Crime in Christchurch

The Press reports on a meeting held in Christchurch last night to discuss the crime problem in Christchurch. Since 2003 violent crimes have gone up 29%, fuelling the concern. Overall crime has dropped but it is violent crime which causes the most concern. The local police commander may have a solution:

Canterbury police district commander Superintendent Dave Cliff pointed to the dramatic decrease in crime in New York City in the 1990s when police began aggressively targeting petty crimes such as subway fare evasion and graffiti.

The approach, known as “Broken Windows” policing, saw low-end crime fall away and was matched by a decrease in high-end crime.

Cliff told over 400 people at the Cut Crime in Christchurch meeting at the Town Hall that a similar approach in Christchurch was on the cards.

He cautioned the crowd they would have to be prepared for the consequences of the move.

“If one of your children is breaching the liquor ban we are going to have to take consistent action,” he said.

Excellent. It would be a great trial for NZ, and if successful there could be a template for other regions. I can’t say for sure that it will work, but the results from New York are positive enough that it should at least be trialled.