Criminal victimisation

Relevance

The criminal victimisation rate provides a broad measure of personal safety and wellbeing. Surveys of criminal victimisation generally provide a more comprehensive picture of victimisation than police data, as not all offending is reported to or recorded by the police.

Current level

The survey data shows 39 per cent of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over experienced some form of criminal victimisation in 2005. Comparisons with data from earlier surveys are not possible owing to changes in the survey design.¹⁰²

Thirty per cent of households had been victims of some kind of household crime in 2005. The most common offences were burglaries (14 per cent) and vandalism to household property (9 per cent). Over the same period, 18 per cent of individuals had been victims of some type of personal offence, the most common being assaults and threats (both 9 per cent). A relatively small number of people accounted for the majority of victimisations: just 6 per cent of people had been victimised five or more times during the survey period but they experienced 51 per cent of all victimisations.

Figure SS2.1 Criminal victimisation prevalence rate, by type of victimisation, 2005

Source: Mayhew and Reilly (2007b) Table 3.1

Age and sex differences

Young people are more likely than others to be victims of crime, and the likelihood of being victimised decreases with age. Among people in the 15–24 years age group, 55 per cent were victims of either personal or household offences in 2005. This compares with 46 per cent of 25–39 year olds, 37 per cent of 40–59 year olds and 20 per cent of those aged 60 years and over. Young people aged 15–24 years also had the highest rates of victimisation for confrontational offences: 13 per cent were victims of confrontational offences committed by partners, 10 per cent were victimised by people who were well known to them, and 16 per cent by other offenders.

The overall rate of victimisation did not vary by sex, with 39 per cent of both men and women experiencing some form of criminal victimisation in 2005. The pattern of victimisation by age was also similar for both sexes. With confrontational offences, men were as likely as women to have been victimised at least once by a partner (6 per cent compared with 7 per cent for women). However, women experienced more offences than men did (26 incidents per 100 women, compared with 18 incidents per 100 men).¹⁰³ Prevalence rates did not differ by sex for offences committed by people well known to the victim (5 per cent for both men and women), but men were more likely than women to be victims of confrontational offences by other offenders (9 per cent compared with 6 per cent).

Women were around twice as likely as men to be the victims of sexual offences (4 per cent compared with 2 per cent), with the highest rate experienced by women aged 15–24 years (12 per cent). Over a third of sexual offences were committed by the victims’ current partners.

Table SS2.1 Criminal victimisation prevalence rate (%), by age and sex, 2005

Source: Mayhew and Reilly (2007b) Table C3

Ethnic differences

The likelihood of being a victim of crime varies by ethnicity. Among both Māori and Pacific peoples aged 15 years and over, 47 per cent had experienced some form of criminal victimisation in 2005. This compared with 43 per cent of Asians and 37 per cent of Europeans. The high rates for Māori and Pacific peoples are likely to be due, at least in part, to these populations having a high incidence of other risk factors associated with victimisation – for instance they are more likely to be young, to be unemployed, to be sole parents and to live in more socio-economically deprived areas.

Māori had a relatively high rate of victimisation for confrontational offences: 14 per cent for offences committed by partners, and 11 per cent both for offences committed by people well known to them and for offences committed by other offenders. For Māori women, the risk of being assaulted or threatened by a partner was three times the average (18 per cent compared with 6 per cent for all respondents). Comparable figures for Pacific peoples are not reliable owing to the small size of the sample.

Other groups at risk

Other groups reporting a high level of victimisation included sole parents with children (60 per cent had experienced some form of criminal victimisation in 2005), students and people living with flatmates (57 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively), people who were single or in de facto relationships (50 per cent and 49 per cent), people who rented their homes either from private landlords or public agencies (49 per cent and 45 per cent), those who were unemployed and/or on benefits (48 per cent), and those who lived in the most deprived fifth of New Zealand areas (45 per cent, compared to 35 per cent of those living in the least deprived neighbourhoods). Many of these characteristics are closely inter-related.

» View technical details about the criminal victimisation indicator