[Superintendent Dave] Cliff presented police statistics showing violence, drugs and anti-social behaviour offences had all increased in Canterbury by almost one third since 2003 despite a decline in total crime for the period.
The number of all recorded offences over the past four years decreased by 6% with 50,807 offences recorded in 2003 compared with 47,853 in 2007.
The figures showed violence offences had risen 29%.
This reflects the national trend.
Penal reform campaigner Nigel Hampton, QC, gave the meeting a different perspective.
Hampton said the media over-reported violent and sexual crime and distorted the perception of how violent New Zealand was.
Hampton said Christchurch was a safe place to live and he accused the media of letting interest groups use them.
Given the presence of a number of victim's families at this meeting, this was either a brave or foolish thing to say. Is Christchurch a safe place to live? I imagine it would depend very much whereabouts in Christchurch you live. But it's also about perception. If people feel frightened about being out and about after dark, or worse still, frightened in their homes, their quality of life is impaired. The statistics may show that their fear is irrational. It never the less exists. Its presence is surely what drove the convening of such a meeting.
And blaming the media is a waste of time. It is the media's job to report the news. Crime is news. Beats me how a journalist can over-report an event...unless the same crime keeps cropping up due to extraordinary length of time it takes cases to proceed through the justice system. Perhaps the QC should be advocating for reform in that area.
Blaming the media for "letting interest groups use them"? Well isn't that exactly what a QC campaigning for penal reform is? An interest group. And he most certainly will have wanted the media to report on his 'perspective'. Precious.
1 comment:
Those figures don't tell the whole story. These are reported crime figures right?
So what's happening is that more serious crimes: murders, rapes, child beatings, race killings and drug labs are being reported to the police.
And the less serious crimes - burgulary, robbery, car conversions (where the car isn't insured), thefts, muggings, assaults, etc no one bothers to report any more
Parker is right: we need new 10-storey jails in every major city. But given the Nawha fiasco, we can't allow the government to build them!
I note that Kiwi Key has been careful: getting private contractors in to build & run prisons doesn't affect his stupid "no asset sales" policy
Post a Comment