THR

I am not under any false impression that NZ would be some kind of utopia where crime would not exist. However, how serious is crime in NZ? I understand that it has got worse in the recent years but that was only to be expected. Depends of course where you live. Auckland is certainly a rougher place than some smaller town elsewhere.

If you are used to life in London or Birmingham, would you find the level of crime in NZ ridiculously low?

Beachcombers

My wife's family is from Oulu and we have just returned from a trip. Nice to have mid summer and to drink some Karhu!

In answer to your question, we live in Marlborough in the top of the South Island. I do not bother to lock my car at night.

Before I left the UK, I was burgled twice in a year.

bourbon-biscuit

I really, really depends where you head to and what sort of crime concerns you and what your experience/perception of crime in the UK is/was.

For me, I really see no difference but was in a low crime area in the UK. If you move from Manchester to Marlborough, I think you'll be pleased.

Where are you from and hoping to head to?

Avid

Doesn't that say more about your car than the crime rate?

Anyway, using personal experience, I've not suffered from crime anywhere. So NZ-UK is a 'no score draw' for me.

Although my sister's friend was murdered in the UK, so I guess NZ wins.

mingusdynasty

yes! Only ever been burgled in Nottingham - about 4 times in one year. My mum was mugged in Blackpool. Manchester is the same. Knife pulled on me in Luton.

hmmm the only thing which has happened here is having my car broken into in palmy north and Nelson.

Beachcombers

Very true!

kiwi_child

Auckland isn't a rougher place to live. Parts of Auckland are, eg; Manurewa, Otara,etc. Same as any large city. Smaller cities and towns are by no means 'crime free'. People need to research the city or town they intend to move to. I always suggest getting info/advice from locals, migrants, police, etc and not picking the cheapest priced areas to live in.

dlmckay

I too, lived in Nottingham, prior to coming to NZ - my car was broken into 14 times in 2 and a half years. Then my bag was snatched as I was unloading my car on my drive... :curse:

In NZ, I've had people come off the road and smash into my car, then drive off...

I think, if you live like you do in the UK (locking doors, closing windows when you go out, stay out of dark alleys at night, live in an affluent neighbourhood), then it is a pretty fair assumption that you'll be fine.

THR

Just asking out of curiosity. There used to be a time that I was seriously thinking of moving to either Australia or NZ but my life has somewhat settled and I have forgotten about things like that. However, I am still very interested to know about life in those two countries and therefore I am asking these questions.

Gill and Rob

One of the first things I noticed in NZ is how people will go shopping and not lock the car doors when they get out. It is also common during the summer months for people to leave car windows down in car parks. We also know people who do not lock their house doors when they go out or at night. We were staying with someone in Auckland who did not lock the house doors at night and we must admit the first couple of nights we did not sleep that easy.

Rob

The Weezer

Curiosity is an excellent thing!

In my experience, life in NZ was very different to what I expected. I didn't imagine a small isolated country with low population (the low population is a serious red flag, I can say from hindsight) would have such problems with burglery and petty crime, even in the small towns. This is my perception, I understand some will have different experiences and therefore different perceptions. As has been pointed out though, no matter how much you're told anectdotally about crime, or read the papers or statistics, you will feel safer if you've not been a victim.

A new NZ television show called "Crime Scene" conducted a telephone poll asking the public if they believe NZ is a safe country. Over 70% said they did not.

Here are a few statistics that might be interesting to you. They probably do not take all factors into account, and the data is almost certainly not consistently collected in all the countries.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cr...afety-burglary

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cr...y-walking-dark

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cr...ting-to-police

lapsed kiwi

More statistics for you:
http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/repo...ngs/index.html
I don't think I've ever been a victim of crime in NZ, but then I've only once been a victim in UK (punched by a random drunk during a night out in Plymouth). As others have said, a lot depends on your choice of neighbourhood - in any country - and if you're brave/misguided enough to live in a dodgy area then you take your chances.

Weezer - why do you live in South Auckland? You don't seem to like it there, and you've alluded that it's not a good place to live for your career. Just curious

The Weezer

Hello Lapsed Kiwi!
I tried not to include my perceptions of South Auckland in this crime discussion, as most who live in NZ know, it's got the highest rate of crime, and is not a place most British migrants would consider living in, esp. if they are trying to improve their quality of life. You really can't judge the whole of NZ or its general lifestyle by the standards of South Auckland.

I live here because it's where we happen to own a mortgage free home, private, with a 1/4 acre. It's a good house by NZ standards too. It would cost way more than we'd like to spend to live comparably in another area.
When I moved, I had no idea how long and unpleasant the commute into Auckland would be, even though we live less than 25 km from the CBD.
I wouldn't live in South Auckland if I had children, I can assure you of that!
On the flip side, you can get lamb flaps and boiled taro at all the takeaways.
And the male customers often wear woven mat skirts or lava lava, and the women wear plastic flowers in their hair. It can be quite interesting, sometimes.

RobClubley

We have seen more petty crime here I suppose. In Leeds we had muggings and stabbings in the park near our house.
We had a brick put through the car windscreen one night when driving home.
Someone set fire to our wheelibin.
Melanie had her purse taken in a nightclub. Then the replacement credit card was stolen from the post and used to buy phone topups and petrol!
We had a neighbour in the back-to-back behind who drove us insane with his noise for 18 months and threatened to come round and shoot us when we complained.
My car was keyed outside work.
We had the house raided by the police because the guy who used to live there had been printing 20 quid notes and sending the invoices for the ink to us.

Over here we see the graffitti and tagging.
Someone smashed our letterbox and spread the bits round the garden
Someone nicked one of the the numbers from the new letterbox
Melanie has had two mobile phones stolen - one at the teacher training college, presumably by a fellow student - one from her bag in a busy pub the other night

Jude J

I have had my bag stolen here whilst in a pub. I take part of the blame as I do (sorry...did) have a tendency to wonder off and leave it unattended
My son had his car stolen two days after he brought it. It was recovered a few days later with only minor damage.

I watched that crime show too but I didn't take too much notice of the poll results. It was hardly a shock, 70% of people watching the show phoned in and voted that they didn't feel safe....every time I watch Jamie Oliver on telly I feel hungry. Even if I just ate.