New data shows police are dealing with more family violence, but where an
offence is reported, fewer cases are being resolved.
The New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse (NZFVC) based at the University
of Auckland’s data summaries released today report statistics from government
and non-government agencies. New Zealand Police data shows:
- Police conducted 101,981
family violence investigations in 2014. In only 37 percent of
investigations was an offence recorded. This is down from 47 percent in
2008.
- There were 7163 recorded male
assaults female offences in 2014 and 82 percent were resolved (e.g. where
one or more offenders were apprehended). This is down from 93 percent
being resolved in 2008.
- There were 6103 recorded
offences for breaching a protection order in 2014 (an average 17 per day).
83 percent were resolved. This is down from 90 percent being resolved in
2008.
- Of the almost 2000 sexual
violence offences against adults in 2014, 41 percent were resolved. This
is down from 65 percent being resolved in 2008.
The data also shows that on
average, the police are issuing 36 Police Safety Orders per day. This equates
to over 13,000 Police Safety Orders issued in 2014.
NZFVC Research Fellow Pauline Gulliver says “The Police and the government are
encouraging people to report family violence. Once an offence is reported, it
is vital that the response is adequate and effective.”
“We are aware the Police have embarked on a significant programme of change
in how they respond to family violence. The data suggests that adequate
resourcing including investing in staff training, support and culture change
will be required for this to be effective.”
Agencies also need to share information so all parts of the response system can
work effectively together.
This is consistent with the Coroner’s report in the Livingstone case and the
recommendations of the Family Violence Death Review Committee.
The 2015 data summaries are online at: https://nzfvc.org.nz/data-summaries
ENDS
For more information
please contact direct;
Researcher Pauline Gulliver on 021 0244 9616
Notes for Editors
The New Zealand
Family Violence Clearinghouse
The New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse is your national centre for
research and information on family and whānau violence in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We provide information and resources for people working towards the elimination
of family violence. The Clearinghouse is based at the School of Population
Health, University of Auckland.
The data summaries
Five data summaries are produced by the Clearinghouse each year. They are a
collation of publicly accessible data gathered from population surveys,
government agencies and non-government organisations. The data summaries are
concerned with Family Violence Deaths, Violence Against Women, Children and
Youth affected by Family Violence, Child Sexual Abuse, and Adult Sexual
Violence.
In general, annual counts from each data source are presented from 2005 until
the most recently available year (2014 in most cases, 2012 for the Ministry of
Health Mortality Collection). For the period 2005 to 2008 police reported crime
resolution rates for the offences contained in the summaries were consistent. Since
2008 there has been a consistent trend of reducing resolution rates for those
offences