Today we'd like to share with you some of the Herald's reader responses to their article. Some go so far as to support the presence of vigilante groups. It's great reading for anyone keen to leave behind the crime in their own country and who presently believe the hype about NZ being a safe place with low crime levels.
Fletch (Northland)
Yes - yes - Crime is a very serious problem up here in Northland and has been for quite a long time. Even the 'tourist areas' are now being targeted! Gone are the days when you could leave things unlocked and you were completely safe in your own home but we need to deal with the consequences of the crime.
Judges need to stop giving the criminals a slap with a wet bus ticket - get real give them something that hurts the first time so that they think twice about ever committing a crime again.
You only have to come up here and walk down our town and see what has happened. If the parents have never taught their kids - then unfortunately the law has to step in and try when it really is too late.
Bring discpline back into society - what we are doing today has not helped - it all needs to start in the home when the kids are little. I am not talking abuse here but teaching kids what society is about would help immensely - we have gone too far the other way and we now have a generation of 'iwi' - 'ihi' (I want it - I'll have it) and this says it all!
Indie Gooch (Newton)
This is a nation founded on the wholesale theft of land by threat of genocide - why would anyone be surprised that crime is a part of NZ's culture?
Forrest Green (Pipiwai)
Yes gangs run the country the streets the prisons, it will only escaluate. No one is safe if you think you are your mistaken.
P. Hand (Onehunga)
Crime is a definitely a serious problem in the whole of New Zealand. My take on it is not only the level of substance abuse across many generations but the "lifestyle" choices of those who prefer to stay on a benefit and "party" as they call it.
Not only that the horrendously bad attitude most people have to someone like myself who has struggled and worked to run a small business and own my own home is laughable considering they are better off than me. I couldn't afford to live the way these crims do and I don't have a convenient handout at the end of a bad month where I can't meet my bills.
The whole substance of society needs to change and change now.
Bonux (Auckland)
11 years in jail for stealing war medals.
3 years in jail for murdering a taxi driver.
If crime is a problem, so is the failure of our current Justice system.
D D (Gulf Harbour)
Tuesday November 3, 2009 JJ Demons (Stanmore Bay);
It's a nice story - but I'll give you two words why people no longer to stop to help out in domestic violence etc: Austin Hemmings.
BigbadSue (Pakuranga)
Forget blaming police for crime, it's the public who commit crimes, from graffiti to murder, drunk driving, bank robberies etc. The police only are expected to catch the morons and the fluffy nanajudges then "punish" them.
Many of us don't even want the police to have tazers or guns, what are they supposed to use? Whistles? Or mark their heads with chalk like overparked cars? We demand violence on TV and rented videos, show crazy car driving also.
Then sell liquor to young pinheads, who get fonged and ape this stuff; we say "Dear dear what has gone wrong? I know! Lets blame the police" Well, try blaming ourselves, we set the examples, make the laws and appoint the judges.
ugustus mccrae (Wanganui)
I am an American psychologist. We are legal permanent residents of NZ who will no longer live there because of the crime and corruption, which is laced throughout the society.
The police are dangerously secretive (read gestapo) and involved in the worst crimes. They help fence stolen merchandise and the meth culture could not exist without their massive complicity in it.
The judicial system is riddled with myopic snobs who are quite busy feathering their own nests and feeding nonsense to a sheeplike citizenry bent on its own destruction through ignorance and denial of the glaring facts.
Children are very sensitive to the hypocrisy and cowardice of their elders. And NZ children have the highest suicide rates in the world. Anyone denying the extraordinarily high crime rate in NZ, which includes violence and rape,should avail themselves of the stats collected by the UN and repeated on such sites as United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Centre for International Crime Prevention); www.nationmaster.com. I wish we had before we invested time and money in this pathetic country.
Truth Seeker (Royal Oak)
Crime is a problem in NZ, and disregard for people and property can be observed daily in many parts of Auckland. In my area there is luckily not that much crime, but then again most crime in NZ is not really seen, as it goes on behind walls in houses and also commercial buildings.
The problem I see is that many citizens simply do not like to get involved, even when they see some crimes or minor offences take place. I was once on a bus and saw a young Maori guy board the bus with a hammer in the hand, which he swung at another two Maori youth he obviously had an issue with.
Luckily he did not hit anyone and ran off before the bus took off. I approached the driver of Asian background and asked him to call the police. He simply shrugged his shoulders and did not want to get involved. He had the cheek to tell me to call the cops! Others in the bus simply sat there and looked away.
This is Auckland nowadays, and when criminals or hoons know they get away like that, then they will simply exploit any situation. People complain justifiedly about the poor response time of the police. But if everybody would show a bit more courage and stand up for the law, we would not have half the crime!
Wolfman (Christchurch)
Crime is a major problem in this country, after living in Aust for 23 years and coming back here I can't believe what I walked into. I have even had my own family steal from me and the police don't want to know about it, they say it is a civil matter, WTF?
We are talking about thousands of dollars here, but nothing is done. The major problem is this country has weak PC Nanny Politicians and Judges. Too much time is spent on appeasing the Rights of Criminals instead of victims.
vinkredible (Manurewa)
No, its not crime that's the problem, its the justice system. The age-old tradition of handing down limp-wristed penalties for crime has caught up, and now every crim and his dog can smell a free-for-all.
The police are no help either, focusing almost solely on revenue gathering with ticketing speeders and cellphone users, instead of answering the call to a burglary or assault. No, instead they have the taxi's go to investigate.
NZ is a beautiful country and i love it, but i feel everyone who isnt a politician or isnt well-heeled, is getting raped, by those very people. Which is about 90% of us.
Its just a shame we're all sheep. Cos otherwise something would be done about it.
Huggiebear (Ellerslie)
Crime is thriving in this country, thankfully very little in my street, except the drug house across the road lived in by bogans, but the worst problem really is only loud music and boy racers dragging up and down the street (No amount of legislation will stop them).
The Police are too busy collecting tickes and getting fines out to people to care about REAL crime. They only hang around ghetto areas as they believe thats where most crime is. I don't feel that safe in my own country, when the Police can't find a womens body locked in a car after 2 days and a little girl theres a huge search for a week, and her body is found in a drain because the parents can't be bothered supervising her. Police need to get their priorities straight.
Vigilante groups may be the only way to tackle crime.
mchaggis (Hibiscus Coast)
Crime is a very serious problem in NZ, to the extent that criminals literally get away with murder! One of the many reasons crime is so bad here, is the fact that there are not enough front line police officers out there doing the job of preventing crime and pursuing criminals in the community. This is through no fault of the police, but is the result of government cutbacks to save a few dollars here and there.
Political correctness is another reason crime is allowed to run rampant out there. I'm sure PC has a huge influence over the police, in affecting their ability to be able to pursue criminals to the full extent of the law. At the same time, when the police do make an arrest, PC again rears its ugly head in the justice system, when judges are unable to apply affective correction procedures as punishment!
Not enough police officers working the beat in the community, along with political correctness, are the main reasons crime is so prevalent these days! This is an issue the government needs to address promptly!"
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