Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith (left) and Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The government is continuing to track ahead of its violent crime reduction target as the police prepare to roll out more officers on the beat, according to Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
"Police are continuing to roll out beat teams across the country, with Henderson in West Auckland the next cab off the rank," Mitchell said.
Since receiving funding through Budget 2024, the police have deployed 63 beat officers across our major cities, and into Dunedin, Rotorua, and New Plymouth districts. That number will soon grow to 70 with the launch of Henderson's beat team of seven in the next few weeks.
"Lifting the presence of police officers in our communities is one of this government's law and order priorities," Mitchell said.
"Having police visible out on our streets goes a long way to deterring crime, and ensuring the public are and feel safe.
"From August 2024 to the end of July 2025, our beat teams in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch have racked up 16,498 foot patrol hours, compared with 7,749 the previous year - a 113 percent increase.
"With the six, soon to be seven, beat teams, as well as Retail Crime Units or operations now running across most of the country's police districts, we will continue to see this highly visible police presence having an impact.
"Police are focussed and working incredibly hard to get on top of crime, and there is no doubt our beat teams are contributing significantly to keeping our communities safe."
It comes as the government continues to track ahead of its violent crime reduction target, with new data showing even fewer victims than last reported, Goldsmith said.
"We announced nine targets in March last year, which included ensuring there are 20,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime by 2029, equating to 165,000 victims.
"The latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey shows there were 156,000 victims of serious violent crime in the 12 months to May. That's 29,000 fewer than when we came into government, and 1000 less than our last update.
"There were also 4000 fewer Māori victims, a nine percent decrease on the last update. Māori are disproportionately more likely to be the victims of crime, so this is another positive step in the right direction.
"We know our plan to restore law and order is working and we make no apologies for getting tough on crime. We've given police and the courts more tools to go after gangs, we've put a stop to public funding of background reports, we've toughened up our sentencing laws, and reinstated the three strikes legislation.
"We do expect the data to remain volatile, and there's still more work to do to continue driving these numbers down. Ultimately, there are still 156,000 victims too many."
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