Crime time

Christchurch's criminal record

John McCombe

Another spring-loaded issue of Avenues.

John McCombe

On a night out on the town with police, Yvonne Martin and photographer John McCombe see all sorts of trouble.

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How safe is our city? How likely is it that our house will be burgled? Avenues gets answers.

Christchurch has its share of high-profile, random crimes, but does it deserve a reputation as a risky city? Colleen Simpson does a safety check, while Yvonne Martin looks at burglary rates and visits city streets after dark.

It's late and you're alone, fumbling to get the keys in your car door. The hairs are bristling on the back of your neck and you're sure you saw the glint of metal out the corner of your eye.

Chances are you're wrong, but you certainly aren't alone in worrying. Whether behind locked doors, travelling to work, or out on the town with friends, Christchurch residents are apparently living in fear.

The third national quality of life survey released in April showed 64.5 per cent of Christchurch people felt unsafe in the central city. That's more than any other urban centre in the country and significantly higher than the 47 per cent national average.

When you consider the anti-social effects fear has on a community - lifestyle restrictions, loss of confidence, development of a victim mentality, and reduced quality of life - it's a hard figure to stomach.

But before you turn your house into Fort Knox, it's worth looking at the facts. Crunch the numbers and compare Canterbury with the 11 other police districts in the country, and you might wonder what you were worried about.

Last year, on a per capita basis, Canterbury ranked lowest in the rates of disorder, drug offences, and serious or grievous assaults. It was also low in the pack for robbery (eighth), burglary (eighth) and sexual attack (ninth).

While some murder victims, such as Emma Agnew and Marie Davis, have become household names, your actual chance of being murdered remains tiny - one in 68,425. Pull out the cases where the victim was murdered by someone they knew and the chances are even slimmer.

Drill down further into the latest crime statistics and there's still little to fear. In the year to June, a total of 14,525 offences were recorded in Christchurch central, a rise of 4 per cent on the previous year. In Canterbury, there was an 11 per cent rise in drug and anti-social related offences to 6396, and a 10 per cent increase in violent offences to 5549, over the same period.

Sexual offences, however, dropped by 24 per cent to 477 - that's 148 fewer offences than the previous year. Here, in sleepy Canterbury, the crimes from which you are actually most at risk are domestic violence, traffic-related, or burglary, police say.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker admits the city's security has been less than ideal, especially after sundown.

"I think any metropolitan city is probably going to be affected by crime -  just by nature of the number of people and the anonymity it provides. Individuals can melt away into the night," he says.

"Over a short period of time, we have been extraordinarily dangerous with random attacks and so on, so it's not surprising that the perception is lagging behind."

But Bob believes inner-city disorder and criminal behaviour have been reined in during the past two years, largely because of initiatives funded by the Christchurch City Council. They include the expansion of the crime-camera network, the appointment of safe-city officers and an alcohol accord that prevents bar-hopping after 3am.

In fact, he thinks it is time for an official celebration marking the reclamation of city streets.

*Read the full story in September's issue*