27 November 2015

Rotorua residents feeling much safer – independent survey

Rotorua residents believe their district has become a safer place to live, and they are also feeling safer in the inner city.

These are among the key findings of an independent Perceptions of Safety Survey carried out by APR Consultantsduring July-August.

Of those surveyed 87.8 per cent now think Rotorua is a safe place to live, an increase of 5.5 per cent on last year (82.3 per cent).

Meanwhile 86.2 per cent feel safe in the inner city during the day time, compared to 83.8 per cent last year, and 31.8 per cent feel safe in the CBD at night, up from 25.8 per cent in last year’s survey.

More people say they are now visiting the inner city on a daily basis (31.4 per cent), an increase of 6.1 per cent on 2014 (25.3 per cent), and 81.2 per cent are visiting once a week or more.

Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick (pictured) said she was very encouraged by the results of this year’s survey, particularly the inroads being made to transform the inner city into a place that more people are visiting because it is seen as increasingly safe.

“These are very positive trends for our community, particularly the general sense that people feel much safer than last year. It’s testament to the wide range of safety initiatives we’ve put in place – such as City Safe Guardians, CCTV cameras and a raft of inner city design elements to improve safety and reduce anti-social behaviour.

“It’s also a result of the commitment and innovation of our vital community partners including businesses, retailers and volunteer groups, along with essential Treasure Rotorua organisations like Rotorua Police, Neighbourhood Support and health authorities.

“It’s timely to note that the CBD location identified as the least safe during the day time was City Focus, and at night was Kuirau Park. Those findings reinforce the action we’re currently undertaking to give both City Focus and Kuirau Park major makeovers, with community safety measures to the fore in each project.

“Two of our key Rotorua 2030 goals are about safety – creating an inviting inner city with a vibrant city heart, and building a resilient community with safe neighbourhoods. These will continue to be a focus of our attention over the coming months and years, in collaboration with our community partners.

However this week’s White Ribbon campaign is a timely and sobering reminder that a strong community response to family violence is still needed,” Mrs Chadwick said.

The Perceptions of Safety Survey reveals that 91 per cent of residents felt safe in their neighbourhoods during the day, while only 3.3 per cent felt unsafe. At night time 78.9 per cent felt safe and 6.2 per cent unsafe. However 28.8 per cent said there were some parts of Rotorua where they felt unsafe, with Fordlands, Western Heights and Owhata being the three most mentioned suburbs.

More police patrols, street lighting and community awareness were the most mentioned priorities for helping to make neighbourhoods safer.

Survey respondents were also asked questions about cycling in Rotorua with 30.6 percent saying they had cycled on Rotorua streets in the last year.

Sixty per cent said they felt safe cycling, and identified cycle lanes as the main reason. Of those who felt unsafe when cycling, inconsiderate motorists was the most mentioned issue. However fewer people felt comfortable about children cycling on roads, with 53.4 per cent feeling streets were not safe for children on bikes.

The Perceptions of Safety Survey has been conducted annually since 2005. This year’s survey of 339 Rotorua residents used a mix of telephone interviews, online and postal surveys, and has a margin of error of 5.3%.

The Rotorua District Perceptions of Safety Survey 2015 is available on the council website – rotorualakescouncil.nz.

Summary of statistics:

• 87.8% feel Rotorua is a safe place to live (7.8% unsafe)

• 81.2% visit CBD at least weekly (31.4% daily)

• 86.2% feel safe in CBD during day time (5% unsafe)

• 31.8% feel safe in CBD at night (15.9% unsafe)

• 43.4% identified unsafe CBD places to park cars

• 91% say their neighbourhood is safe during day (3.3% unsafe)

• 78.9% say their neighbourhood is safe at night (6.2% unsafe)

• 30.6% have cycled on streets in last 12 months (69.1% haven’t)

• 60% feel safe cycling on streets (33.5% unsafe)

-ENDS-

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