New Zealand break-in and burglary statistics reveal extent of issue

New research out into burglaries and break-ins taking place in New Zealand.

If you haven’t already seen it then there is some incredible new research and investigative journalism that has been undertaken by the New Zealand Herald into burglary statistics in New Zealand. The Herald is publishing information for 5 days during the week starting Monday 7 March 2016.

What are the main points so far?

Firstly, the Herald has produced a great interactive map that shows where burglaries have taken place over the 18 months since July 1^st 2014. You can zoom it to your area and see just home many break-ins there have been. We recommend you check this out for your area and make a judgement as to whether you need to take steps to increase your home’s security.

During the 18 month period, there were 97,707 burglaries or roughly one every eight minutes.

Less than 10% of burglaries are solved in New Zealand according to New Zealand Police figures. In effect, this means that burglars got away with an average of 164 break and enters a day.

In New Zealand, like many other countries, the highest rates of burglary are in lower socio-economic areas. In our country, the worst areas for burglary are in South Auckland, namely specific areas in Manukau, East Tamaki and Takanini South. Many of the break-ins are done by burglars in their local area.

Areas with higher property prices are not exempt from burglaries, with these areas targeted more by house-breaking gangs and professionals rather than suffering from opportunistic break-ins by local people.

For more information we highly recommend taking a look at The Herald week long focus on burglary titled: “Hitting Home: A comprehensive look at burglary in New Zealand”

And here is a link to The Herald’s interactive map