12 March 2018
Major new crime survey launched

The Ministry of Justice announced today a new crime survey - the New Zealand Crime and Victim Survey (NZCVS) - which starts this month.

“This is a very powerful new tool,” says Ministry Chief Executive, Andrew Bridgman.

“It will help us better understand the impact of crime on the lives of New Zealanders and make the changes necessary for a safer New Zealand.

“This is a national survey running every year. It is a great leap forward from previous crime surveys and gathers a much greater range and depth of information.

“It is a very large sample of 8,000 people over the age of 15, and it will take seven months to complete all the face-to-face interviews. In 2018 the survey will specifically focus on family violence.

“We urge everyone who is contacted to participate. People’s information will be entirely confidential. We want to know the impact crime has had on their lives in the last 12 months and we want to know about both reported and non-reported offenses,” Mr Bridgman says.

“People who provide this information for the NZCVS will be making an important contribution to combatting crime in New Zealand.”

The New Zealand and Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS) has been funded to run once a year for the next three years. The survey starts in March and people will be interviewed until September when the data will be analysed with the first results published towards the end of the year.

It replaces the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey (NZCASS) which happened every three or four years.

NZCVS results will be used widely by the Ministry of Justice, Statistics NZ, Ministry of Social Development, Te Puni Kōkiri, the Police, Department of Corrections, Oranga Tamariki, and the Ministry for Women as well as other researchers.

The NZCVS is being conducted jointly by the Ministry of Justice and CBG Public Sector Surveying. The Ministry of Justice will publish the first results at the end of 2018 or early 2019.

ENDS

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