Hon Mark Mitchell
Minister of Police

After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell.

“In August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within a year of my appointment as Police Minister, I would resign.

“The public expects to see Ministers holding themselves to account and delivering in their interest. The 12-month measure was an important one for me to show that I am serious about making New Zealand the safest country in the world, and that I would work tirelessly to achieve that.

“In December, I laid out my clear expectations of Police. These included a back-to-basics policing approach, ensuring that gangs will not take over towns, public roads or spaces and for law abiding members of the public to have their rights protected. People deserve to feel safe on their streets, in their homes, and in their workplaces.

“I am very pleased by some of the early results we have seen this year. A reduction in victimisations across the board by 3 per cent is a significant early sign that things are trending in the right direction.

“Foot patrols have increased by 30 per cent, ram raids are down over 60 per cent, serious assaults have dropped 3 per cent and aggravated robberies are down 11 per cent.

“Retail crime continues to be an area of significant challenge and the Government is working tirelessly to get on top of it. Theft in the retail space continues to grow but I am pleased to see the trend slowing at the more violent end.

“Gang membership growth has slowed tenfold in the last year. Where it grew by 10 per cent to October last year, it has only grown 1 per cent this year.

“We have seen several well-policed gang funerals and runs this year, with no towns taken over by gang members and Police have executed substantive operations across the country against Comancheros, the Mongrel Mob, the Head Hunters and the Mongols.

“Obviously there is a lot more work to do to make New Zealand the safest country in the world and to restore the clear sense of safety that New Zealanders once felt. The Government’s social investment approach and restoration of a strong economy will have big roles to play in doing this.

“Having considered my performance over the last year in Government, I believe that I have delivered on my promise for New Zealanders to see change in my first 12 months as Police Minister. There remains a big job ahead of us and I am excited to keep working at it.”

Fact sheet:

Data is sourced from Police’s victimisations (demographics) data, updated on the Police Data website monthly. The September data will be uploaded by the end of this month to the website. Ram raids data is sourced from Police’s ram raids data, which is also publicly available.

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