Crime in New Zealand defined primarily by statute, rather than by common law. The main source is the Crimes Act 1961, which sets out a comprehensive code of criminal offences and their penalties. The Summary Offences Act 1981 covers less serious (summary) offences, such as disorderly behaviour, minor assaults, and public nuisance offences. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 addresses offences related to the possession, use, manufacture, and supply of controlled drugs. Other laws specify financial crimes, traffic offences, and other kinds of offences.
The laws defining crimes are updated frequently, often in response to stories about crimes which are highlighted in the media, especially those involving violence. Politicians and the public tend to rely on the media for information about the prevalence of crime, and multiple surveys indicate the majority of New Zealanders mistakenly believe that crime is increasing. During election cycles, politicians talk about crime as a 'law and order' issue to such an extent that it has been described as a political football - with parties of all persuasions unveiling competing policies and accusations about who is "soft" or "tough" on crime. Academics point out that calls to crack down on crime have become a recurring pattern in New Zealand, often overshadowing nuanced discussion and evidence-based policy.Report finds history repeating in coverage of calls for crime crackdown, RNZ, 13 August 2023
In the process, the main factors contributing to criminal offending in New Zealand are largely ignored. They include poverty, adverse childhood experiences, poor school performance, association with delinquent peers, substance abuse and addictions, mental illness, low intelligence, impulsivity, and certain neurological or hormonal factors. Politicians in New Zealand often claim to put victims at the centre of their concerns, ignoring the reality that a substantial majority of those who grow up to commit crimes as adults were previously victimised as children.
Establishing trends in crime rates is complicated by a number of factors including the willingness of the public to report crimes and changes in the way offences are recorded by the Police. The most significant change occurred in 2015 when the police began reporting victimisations instead of offences which ended up in court. This makes any analysis of crime rates before 2015 incompatible with rates following the change.
Assessing the level of violent crime is equally difficult, complicated by significant differences between low level threats, minor assaults and serious violence. Criminologists believe the murder rate is the most reliable indicator of violence in society and this has been relatively stable in New Zealand for some years. Adding another point of view, in 2025, New Zealand was third highest on the Global Peace Index issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace – out of 149 countries. From an international perspective, New Zealand is perceived as a 'safe' country to live in.
Perspectives on crime in New Zealand
Public perceptions
In a Ministry of Justice, Colmar Brunton survey of 2,051 New Zealanders in 2014, respondents reported that television, newspapers and online news sites were their most common sources of information about crime. The reality is that since 2000, public surveys have consistently shown that a majority of New Zealanders believe crime is increasing.
In 2003, a Ministry of Justice study reported that 83% of New Zealanders wrongly believed crime was increasing.Attitudes to Crime and Punishment: A New Zealand Study, Ministry of Justice, Wellington, 2003, pp. 4 & 66 A study in 2009 described an "overwhelming public belief that crime has got worse," despite falling murder rates.Collins, Simon (7 April 2009). "NZ murder rate halved in past 20 years". New Zealand Herald. A Ministry of Justice survey in 2014 found 60% believed national crime had increased in the past year.Public perceptions of crime – survey report, Ministry of Justice 2014. The Justice Sector Long-term Insights Briefing from 2022 also confirms that most of the public believes crime is increasing, even as actual crime rates have dropped over time.Long term Insights briefing, Justice Sector 2022. In 2024, 87% of New Zealanders believed youth crime had increased in the past five years, despite official statistics showing a decline.Youth crime and justice: Court and prison less likely for new generations of youth, RNZ, 11 January 2024 The Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS) published in 2025 found most New Zealanders were concerned about nationwide crime, but were less concerned about crime in their own neighbourhoods. For instance, 80% of adults expressed concerns about burglaries in general, but only 40% were as concerned about it happening in their own community. Similarly, 78% are concerned about physical assault nationally, but only 23% locally.Kiwis give their verdict on the justice system, Ministry of Justice.
Political perceptions
Discussions about the prevalence of crime in New Zealand tend to be driven by 'law and order' debates in the media at elections. This development has been described by Professor John Pratt as penal populism: "the process whereby the major political parties compete with each other to be tougher on crime than their opponents."
According to Pratt, New Zealand - like the UK and US - moved away from a consensus model of criminal justice (which dominated until the 1980s) toward a populist model where politicians increasingly sidelined expert advice in favour of policies that appeal to public opinion, often fuelled by media coverage and moral panic.Penal Populism, John Pratt 2007. This process began in the mid-1990s with the 1993 Electoral Referendum on Law and Order, following a campaign driven by the Sensible Sentencing Trust and similar lobby groups.
The introduction of MMP (Mixed Member Proportional representation) in 1996 gave smaller, often more populist parties (e.g. ACT and New Zealand First) greater influence. This increased pressure on major parties (Labour and National) to adopt more punitive rhetoric and policies to retain voter support.Penal populism in New Zealand, Punishment & Society. 2005 Well-publicised violent crimes in the 1990s (such as the Aramoana Massacre in which 13 people were killed) also led to increased media focus on victims' rights and demands for harsher penalties.
This competition between parties to appear tougher on crime has shaped the trajectory of law and order policy for the last 30 years - often at the expense of effectiveness, fairness, and rehabilitation. It has also contributed to New Zealand's growing prison population.Pratt, J. (2008). "When Penal Populism Stops: Legitimacy, Scandal and the Power to Punish in New Zealand." Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 41(3), 364–383. Between 2017 and 2022, the Labour Party attempted to shift back toward expert-led reform and set a goal to reduce the prison population by 30% over 15 years. However, the coalition government of National, ACT and NZ First has returned to this populist approach and reinstated a hardline law-and-order platform.Politicians Failing Those At Risk, Peter Dunne, Scoop, July 2023
International perceptions
New Zealanders' perceptions of crime and safety differ from those perceived internationally. In 2010 and 2011, New Zealand topped the Global Peace Index issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace – out of 149 countries.'Peace index ranks Canada 14th in world', The Canadian Press, 8 June 2010. The index is based on 23 indicators including corruption, violence, crime rates, military spending and access to primary education. According to the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, New Zealand is the least corrupt nation in the world.
On the 2025 Global Peace Index, New Zealand is ranked 3rd in the world, just behind Iceland (1st) and Ireland (2nd). New Zealand consistently ranks among the most peaceful countries globally, reflecting high levels of safety, stability, and low crime rates.World's Most Peaceful Country 2025 Global Peace Index, Global Finance June 2025.
Measuring crime Statistical issues Crime statistics in New Zealand are affected by changes in policing practice and the way crimes are recorded. Significant changes that have been made include upgrades to police recording systems, the introduction of national recording standards in 2008, and changes in how offences and resolutions were counted in 2014. New ways of recording crime statistics have created anomalies in the data gathering, making current statistics incompatible with previous data.The transformation of NZ Police crime statistics: New measures and trends. NZ Police, February 2016.
Crime statistics are also affected by changes in public willingness to report offences. This depends on numerous factors including media attention to high-profile crimes and the level of confidence in police to take action. See Reporting of crime below.Digging out the facts on crime and punishment, RNZ, 11 June 2023
In addition, different organisations may use different data standards for reporting. For example, Police and Corrections handle people with multiple ethnicities using the prioritised method, whereas Statistics New Zealand uses the total response method. This means a person who identifies as both New Zealand European (Pākehā) and Māori is counted as Māori in police and corrections data, but is counted as both European and Māori in population statistics. This may cause crime statistics, especially those of non-Maori ethnicity, to be under-reported.
Current standards Statistics New Zealand sets standards for collecting crime data, and collates statistical data from the Police, Department of Corrections and Ministry of Justice. Each department also publishes their own statistical data. Since 1 July 2010, the entire justice sector has used the Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification (ANZSOC) to classify and aggregate offence, offender and conviction statistics.
Reporting of crime Many crimes, especially sexual crimes and domestic violence, go unreported and consequently do not appear in official statistics.Large drop in reported crime, murder rate, 1 April 2011Johnson, Alan (February 2019), "Are You Well? Are We Safe? State of the Nation Report", The Salvation Army Social Policy & Parliamentary Unit, Auckland p. 36 This may be because the victims believe them to be too trivial to warrant police attention, which is the most common reason cited for non-reporting, accounting for 38% of unreported incidents.New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey, Ministry of Justice.
Reporting rates also vary by age, household type, and ethnicity. For instance, people living in multi-person households are more likely to report crimes where they are victims, especially vehicle offences, burglaries, and interpersonal violence.Reporting crime, Ministry of Justice. Property offences, are more likely to be reported when an insurance claim requires a police report.Understanding Recent Movements in Crime Statistics, Axist Consulting, 2006 Shifts in media reporting can influence public perceptions and reporting behaviour, especially for high-profile crimes. For instance, increased media coverage such as that driven by the MeToo movement has been credited for a rise in sexual assault victims coming forward to police.More sexual assault victims making police reports, some experts credit Me Too movement, RNZ, 29 May 2025
However, many sexual assaults are not be reported out of fear, shame, and beliefs that the victim will be blamed for what happened, and because being interviewed by the police and then taking the matter to court is potentially retraumatising.Reporting Sexual Violence in Aotearoa New Zealand, Tauiwi Prevention Project, 2022 In 2019, an estimated 94% of sexual assaults were not reported.
Victimisation rates