Survey results reveal fresh insights into perceptions of crime

More than half of Kiwis (56%) say they have little fear of crime according to new analysis from the 2024 New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS).

Ministry of Justice Sector Insights General Manager Rebecca Parish says the NZCVS measures New Zealanders’ trust and confidence in the justice system, their views on fairness and effectiveness, and their concerns about different types of offending.

“The survey provides valuable insights into New Zealanders’ views on crime and how it impacts them. Our newly released analysis reveals that fear of crime is not uniformly experienced by all.”

Five new factsheets based on responses from the Public Perceptions Module, a new set of questions included in the 2024 NZCVS are released today. The NZCVS is an annual face-to-face survey of around 7,000 people aimed at capturing reported and unreported personal and household crime.

The results include the following:

In 2024, almost 9 out of 10 adults (89%) were concerned about interpersonal violence nationwide. In contrast, only about 4 out of 10 adults (37%) were concerned about it in their own neighbourhoods.
Concerns at a neighbourhood level were higher among specific groups, namely victims of crime (46%), adults who feel unsafe (53%), Māori (49%), Pacific Peoples (46%), and those living in the most deprived areas (52%).
Despite experiencing similar or lower levels of victimisation compared to the New Zealand average, Asian adults and Pacific Peoples reported a higher fear of crime.
Victims’ reduced trust in the justice system appears to be due to a reduced belief that the criminal justice system is fair and effective.
Māori have consistently lower levels of trust and confidence in the justice system compared to non-Māori.

The factsheets cover the following areas:

how concern about violent crime varies at nationwide and neighbourhood levels across groups
how fear of crime varies across different population groups
how beliefs about the causes of crime differ across groups
factors behind lower Māori trust in the system
factors behind lower victims’ trust in the system.

Victims have a far lower level of trust in the justice system than non-victims, the results show.

“However, trust improves when victims are given more opportunity to participate in the system and to understand what is being done to help them. As a result, different parts of the justice system are trying new ways to better support the victims of crime,” Rebecca Parish says.

Fact sheets: NZCVS Cycle 7 resources and results

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