Introduction | Framework Diagram | Selection of Priority Areas and At Risk Groups | Strategies and Actions | Local Partnerships

The Crime Reduction Strategy

The New Zealand Government’s Crime Reduction Strategy is the 2002 successor of the 1994 Crime Prevention Strategy. It reflects changing priorities since then for reducing crime.

The Crime Reduction Strategy (CRS) sets out a framework for crime reduction activity across seven priority areas:
1. Family violence and child abuse
2. Other violence and sexual violence
3. Serious traffic offending
4. Youth offending and reoffending
5. Burglary
6. Theft of and from cars
7. Organised crime

The new CRS framework expands the scope of the Government’s crime prevention and crime reduction efforts to include a wider spectrum of activities, from social sector initiatives like early intervention to law enforcement and criminal justice system activities.

The framework is designed to encourage the coordinated development and implementation of:

strategies and actions for crime reduction across the social and justice sectors;
research and evaluation initiatives;
outcome and performance measures for the justice sector; and,
partnerships between central government, local government and community organisations.

It emphasises coordination and collaboration between agencies across the social, youth justice and criminal justice sectors.
It emphasises the need for a comprehensive partnership approach between central and local government, and local communities, to ensure that crime is tackled effectively.

It provides the Crime Prevention Unit with a new mandate to guide its work in building local crime prevention partnerships.