Summarised by Centrist
The government says it has already met its 2029 goal to reduce violent crime victim numbers — four years ahead of schedule — though the data behind the claim hasn’t yet been formally released.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said internal figures from the New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey showed 157,000 violent crime victims in the year to February, down from the October 2023 baseline of 185,000. That would put the government ahead of its target to reduce victims by 20,000 by 2029.
“The latest quarterly results for all Government targets will not be released until early June,” Goldsmith said. “However, given the significance of these results, we are releasing them early, as we believe they are robust and in the public interest.” He acknowledged the numbers may remain “volatile” and that more work was needed.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell credited the early result to tough-on-crime measures introduced by the coalition, including the return of the three-strikes regime, gang-crackdown powers, and stricter sentencing. “I am very proud of the work [police and corrections staff] are doing every day to make our country safer,” he said.
However, the actual report from the Ipsos-run survey is yet to be made public, and it’s unclear how stable or repeatable the result is. Crime data can fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter, and victim numbers don’t always align with reported offences or public perception.
Both Goldsmith and Mitchell emphasised that while the trend was encouraging, sustained effort and further reforms would be needed to maintain it.
