{DOWNLOAD} Crime, Law and Justice in New Zealand Pdf Free

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

{DOWNLOAD} Crime, Law and Justice in New Zealand Pdf Free CRIME, LAW AND JUSTICE IN NEW ZEALAND PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Greg Newbold | 296 pages | 17 Jun 2016 | Taylor & Francis Ltd | 9781138192416 | English | London, United Kingdom Crime, Law and Justice in New Zealand by Greg Newbold, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® This is written by a Professor at my own University, the University of Canterbury,Christchurch,New Zealand, and although it causes me great pain to say this, this is a very poor work. Fortunately Professor Newbold is nothing at all to do with my department. He is in sociology. The scholarship in his piece is pitiful. I explain at length to my students why it is poor scholarship to use Wikipedia as a reputable reference. However, Professor Newbold seems to have no such qualms, even though this is This is written by a Professor at my own University, the University of Canterbury,Christchurch,New Zealand, and although it causes me great pain to say this, this is a very poor work. However, Professor Newbold seems to have no such qualms, even though this is being peddled as a text book. But rather than use adults with peer reviewed work of their own, Prof Newbold regularly appeals to what are most likely white male school children from Wikipedia to back up his opinions. And the opinions are of even greater concern than the scholarship. The comments about women and rape claims also concerning, and unverifiable. If you want to read about crime in New Zealand, and are interested in a thoughtful and deep analysis of our society, this is an example of what underlies our many problems, not an example of a what might be a thoughtful solution. Oct 26, Babelbooks rated it did not like it. Those who read it should carefully check references and watch for bias. You go to the references and cite those. And if you cite a website, you are supposed to include the date you looked it up in case the site changes. One article was cited in the book several times but has since been almost completely deleted from Wikipedia. This is confusing. And some sources are missing , like for historical information. But newer research shows the colonisers had biases in their research. Charged language is used against women. No offence disclosed cases are conflated with false accusations. Vague statements about police and the percentage of false complaints are made on the basis of single, old newspaper articles. In conclusion, this book is missing objective analysis and proper data or references in several places. You wonder what other books from Routledge might be slipping through the cracks. Criminal offences related to specific situations also appear in other legislation, such as the Misuse of Drugs Act for drug offences and the Land Transport Act for traffic offences. Less serious breaches of the law are dealt with under legislation such as the Summary Offences Act , where penalties are more often a fine or other community sanctions rather than imprisonment. The age of criminal responsibility in New Zealand is 10 years, however children aged 10 and 11 can only be convicted of murder and manslaughter, while children aged 12 and 13 can only be convicted of a crime with a maximum sentence of 14 years or more imprisonment. Local councils and other individuals appointed by the Police Commissioner also have the power to enforce laws and bylaws. First offenders charged with minor crimes and accepting full responsibility of their actions are considered for the New Zealand Police Adult Diversion Scheme. Given offenders agree to the conditions of diversion which usually involves a written agreement tailored to change the offending behaviour , the offender may have the charge withdrawn. FGCs may be invoked in a variety of scenarios including when the police has the intention to charge a child or a young person, when a child or young person is appearing before a court and does not deny the charge, following a prosecution in which the child is found guilty and in other specialised cases. Following the filing of charges, a trial will be held at a court administered by the Ministry of Justice. The type of court the case is held at and whether the trial is held by jury or by a judge is determined by the severity of the offense and the age of the accused. The severity of an offence is define by the Criminal Procedures Act as described below: [13]. There are numerous types of sentences which judges may impose on those found guilty of an offense. The type of setence imposed typically depends on the severity of the offending, the interests of the victim, consistency with sentences imposed for similar offending and the personal circumstances of the offender. Life imprisonment is the severest form of punishment in New Zealand since the abolition of the death penalty in It is the mandatory sentence for treason , the presumptive sentence for murder , [16] and an optional sentence for terrorism, manslaughter and certain drug-related offences. People sentenced to life imprisonment remain in prison or on parole for the remainder of their life. Most people sentenced to life imprisonment can apply for parole after a minimum non-parole period set by the sentencing judge; no person in New Zealand has yet been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The default minimum non-parole period for murder is 10 years, [17] increasing to 17 years for aggravated murders. Prison sentences are administred by the Department of Corrections in correctional facilities. As of August , New Zealand has 18 correctional facilities, 15 for male prisoners located from Kaikohe to Invercargill, and three for female prisoners located in the main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Crime-related statistics are publicly available from the New Zealand Police's policedata. Police also regularly release media statements and other information to inform the public about crime. Statistics New Zealand sets standards for collecting crime data, and collates statistical data from the Police , Department of Corrections and Ministry of Justice. Each department also publicly publishes their own statistical data. Many crimes,especially sexual crimes and violence, go unreported and consequently do not appear in official statistics. Statistics reported in headlines that previously indicated that crime rates were rising or falling do not reflect reality because most crime is not reported to Police and a lot of crime that is reported does not appear in statistics that Police produce. Victim surveys tend to suggest that less than a third of 'crime' is actually reported to Police which is consistent with victimisation surveys in similar countries such as Australia , Britain and the United States. Changes in the legal definition of an offense, the resourcing of the police, methods of counting and police practices have affected the recorded levels of crime. Two examples of changes which have had a statistically significant effect on the recorded crime include a new measurement crime measurent series introduced in and a change of the computer crime recording system in Despite different means of measuring crime, the statistics show that the reported crime rates in New Zealand were low for the first half of the 20th century - but rose steeply from , peaking in , and has steadily declined since then. The crime rate has continued to decline in the twenty-first century. In , the number of murders in New Zealand dropped by nearly a quarter over the previous year from 65 to 46 , while overall reported crime fell 6. Homicide and related offending dropped by The total number of offences in was the lowest since , and gave the lowest crime rate per head of population since before electronic records were maintained. However, this doesn't necessarily mean crime actually dropped. Deputy Police Commissioner Viv Rickard said "This decrease appears to be partly due to the public not wanting to bother us with minor matters when they knew we were dealing with the earthquake. For the 12 months ending 31 December , New Zealand Police recorded , total victimisations, a decrease of 2. Theft victimisations reduced by 0. Burglary victimisations decreased by 6. There has been much speculation about the causes of the decrease in crime rates. The impact of economic downturns, unemployment rates, local disasters, better security, changing demographic patterns, increased policing and various changes in the culture and life-style have all been examined. Collectively, all these factors may play a part. Sir David Carruthers , a former Chief District Court Judge and now head of the Independent Police Conduct Authority , says the drop in the crime rate in New Zealand is partly due to a drive to reduce the number of teenagers being suspended or expelled from school. Education Ministry figures show that school suspension rates have been declining for at least 12 years, from 7. Recent changes in police strategy have also reduced the number of prosecutions in the past two years. Police are using diversion and warnings more frequently instead of charging minor offenders and are issuing safety orders for less serious domestic situations — which allow an offender to be ordered out of the house for up to five days without recording this as an offence. The warnings are most commonly used to resolve disorderly behaviour and breach of liquor ban offences. Most of these incidents In mid , the Ministry of Justice and Colmar Brunton conducted a survey of 2, New Zealanders about their perceptions of crime and the criminal justice sector. They concluded: [40]. New Zealanders' perceptions of safety differ to the way the country is perceived internationally. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, New Zealand is the least corrupt nation in the world. As financial-crime can be complex Blue-collar,White-collar, Fraud, tax evasion, etc.
Recommended publications
  • Responding to Sexual Violence: a Review of Literature on Good Practice
    October 2009 Responding to sexual violence A review of literature on good practice Authors: Elaine Mossman, Jan Jordan, Lesley MacGibbon, Venezia Kingi and Liz Moore Commissioned by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Responding to sexual violence: A review of literature on good practice Elaine Mossman, Jan Jordan, Lesley MacGibbon, Venezia Kingi and Liz Moore Disclaimer This report was commissioned by the Ministry of Women‟s Affairs. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in the report are intended to inform and stimulate wider debate. They do not represent government policy. Published in October 2009 by the Ministry of Women‟s Affairs | Minitatanga Mō Ngā Wāhine PO Box 10 049, Wellington, New Zealand Phone: 0064 4 915 7112 Fax: 0064 4 916 1604 Email: [email protected] Website: www.mwa.govt.nz ISBN 978-0-478252-43-9 This document is available on the Ministry of Women‟s Affairs website: www.mwa.govt.nz/news-and-pubs/publications Contents List of tables .......................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... vi Executive summary .............................................................................................. vii Part one: Overview of adult sexual violence and good practice ......................... 1 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Project overview ..........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Social Construction, Crime Statistics and Māori and Pacific Peoples
    MAI Review, 2009, 3, Peer Commentary 2 Māori, Pacific peoples and the social construction of crime statistics Robert Webb Abstract: The analyses by Hook in the two target articles published in this issue on the effects of legislation on recorded rates of crime for Māori and Pacific Islanders (Hook, 2009a, 2009b) give rise to a number of questions and themes that this peer commentary will examine. In particular, this commentary will explore some of the practices such as policing that may influence the social construction of crime figures in relation to Māori and Pacific peoples, and some of the limitations to building critical analyses from official crime statistics. Keywords: crime statistics; Māori; Pacific peoples; social construction This peer commentary examines the construction of crime statistics for Māori and Pacific peoples by reflecting upon the wider social context in which the figures are generated. The criminal justice system’s data on recorded offences, convictions and sentencing provides an official picture of crime. One area where differences are recorded is the conviction and imprisonment statistics between ethnic groups in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In the year 2006, of those convicted in court with a known ethnicity, 43% were Māori, 9% were Pacific peoples, 45% were New Zealand European, and 3% other ethnicity (Morrison, Soboleva & Chong, 2008). Māori imprisonment levels are also high, with Māori comprising around 50% of New Zealand prison inmates. Often these statistics on Māori and Pacific peoples’ interactions with the
    [Show full text]
  • Physical Well-Being and Ethnic Inequality in New Zealand Prisons, 1840-1975
    Physical Well-Being and Ethnic Inequality in New Zealand Prisons, 1840-1975 Kris Inwood Departments of Economics and History University of Guelph Les Oxley Departments of Economics University of Waikato Evan Roberts† Department of History and Minnesota Population Center University of Minnesota August 2014 Working Paper No. 2014-6 https://doi.org/10.18128/MPC2014-6 †Correspondence should be directed to: Evan Roberts Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 50 Willey Hall, 225 19th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA e-mail: [email protected] Physical well-being and ethnic inequality in New Zealand prisons, 1840-1975 Kris Inwood Departments of Economics and History University of Guelph Les Oxley Department of Economics University of Waikato Evan Roberts (author for correspondence) Department of History and Minnesota Population Center University of Minnesota [email protected] Acknowledgements: Comments from participants at the Social Science History Association, Population Association of America, and World Congress of Cliometrics conferences and several anonymous referees improved this paper. We thank Archives New Zealand and the New Zealand Ministry of Justice for access to confidential prison registers. Sam Ritchie, Tristan Egarr, Adeline Arulandu, and Anthony GerBi provided exemplary research assistance. Data collection was supported by the Health Research Council under Grant HRC 08/231 and the Marsden Fund under Grant UoC 0807. The Victoria University of Wellington Human Ethics Committee granted ethical permission for this research. Evan Roberts acknowledges further support from the Minnesota Population Center (5R24HD041023), funded through grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Physical growth and ethnic inequality in New Zealand prisons, 1840-1975 Abstract The British colonization of New Zealand after 1840 was marked by an unusual concern for incorporating the indigenous Māori population into the new society.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Earthquake Analysis of Crime and Alcohol Outlets in Christchurch
    Post-earthquake analysis of crime and alcohol outlets in Christchurch March 2018 Breetzke, G., Elley, B., & Gilbert, J. A report commissioned by the Health Promotion Agency COMMENTS The Health Promotion Agency (HPA) commisioned Independent Research Solutions to undertake this research as part of a HPA acohol research investment round. The lead researchers are Greg Breetzke, Benjamin Elley and Jarrod Gilbert. This research examines the impacts on and relationships between alcohol outlets and crime patterns in post-quake Christchurch between 2009 and 2014. The analysis looks at the changing spatial distribution of alcohol outlets, changes in crime patterns, and six case studies looking at local areas. HPA would like to acknowledge Cathy Bruce and Rhiannon Newcombe for the contribution to this project. The HPA commission was managed by Craig Gordon, Senior Researcher, HPA. The report has undergone external peer review by Dr Michael Cameron, University of Waikato. COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER The copyright owner of this publication is HPA. HPA permits the reproduction of material from this publication without prior notification, provided fair representation is made of the material and the authors are acknowledged as the research providers, and HPA as the commissioning agency. This research has been carried out by independent parties under contract to HPA. The views, observations and analysis expressed in this report are those of the authors and are not to be attributed to HPA. ISBN: 978-1-927303-90-0 Authors: Greg Breetzke, Benjamin Elley and Jarrod Gilbert (Independent Research Solutions) Citation: Breetzke, G., Elley, B., & Gilbert, J. (2018). Post-earthquake analysis of crime and alcohol in Christchurch.
    [Show full text]
  • Reachout: a Prevention First Response to Men Perpetrating Family Violence in North Canterbury, New Zealand
    HERMAN GOLDSTEIN AWARDS 2016 ReachOut A Prevention First Response to Men Perpetrating Family Violence In North Canterbury, New Zealand SUMMARY New Zealand has the highest rate of family violence amongst member nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). North Canterbury is situated in the South Island of New Zealand. It is a suburban and rural area with an approximate population of 70,000. Scanning in 2010 by local Police identified a gap in services for men named on Police reports of family violence. While women and children were routinely offered support following Police attendance at an episode, men listed as subjects or offenders were not. At the same time, the number of women entering local safe houses had started to decline and the average length of stay was increasing. This was due to the lack of affordable accommodation for women and children to move into because of the Canterbury earthquakes. Police attendance at family violence episodes had also increased rapidly by 19% following the earthquakes. Prior to the implementation of the response, the local male family violence re-offending rate was 18%. Police analysis of a high risk sample of local men identified a willingness to receive support. This in turn had the potential to prevent reoffending by improving risk assessment and victim safety planning. A multi-stakeholder community meeting facilitated by Police and the local council found unanimous support for a specialist response for men in North Canterbury. Police and a local specialist family violence agency Aviva (formerly called Christchurch Women’s Refuge) convened a multi-stakeholder working group to co-design, implement and pilot a response.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Power – Mongrel Mob Gang – Criminal Gangs – Maoris – Police 14 December 2009
    Country Advice New Zealand New Zealand – NZL35790 – Black Power – Mongrel Mob gang – Criminal gangs – Maoris – Police 14 December 2009 1. Please provide information about Black Power and the Mongrel Mob, in New Zealand and Australia. Where are they located and how many members do they have? Black Power (BP) and the Mongrel Mob (MM) in New Zealand: Black Power (BP) and the Mongrel Mob (MM) are the most prominent gangs in New Zealand. The larger of the two, Mongrel Mob, formed in the mid-1960s in Hastings; Black Power in Wellington around 1970. They are referred to as ethnically based gangs on account of their predominantly Maori and Polynesian membership. Members display distinctive dress, gestures, facial and bodily tattoos. Mongrel Mob members have the bulldog as their emblem, while Black Power associates commonly wear blue and salute one another with their emblem, a clenched fist. Those who wish to join either gang are often required to perform specific acts of initiation.1 Whilst belonging to a gang is not in itself an offence in New Zealand, MM and BP remain controversial principally for the nature and extent of their links to criminal activity and violence. Sources indicate that gang violence is rarely random or directed at the general public and nearly always involves rival gang members. Violence between MM and BP is commonly reported in the media, with much of the intra-gang conflict stemming from territorial disputes over drug distribution.2 The New Zealand Police state that the gangs are involved “in serious violence, selling and distributing drugs, possessing firearms and offensive weapons, and using intimidation and threatening tactics in pursuit of their criminal activities”.3 According to some gang researchers it would however be wrong to view gangs as primarily criminal organisations.
    [Show full text]
  • It Happened Here: Reports of Race and Religious Hate Crime 2004-2012
    It Happened Here Reports of race and religious hate crime in New Zealand 2004-2012 Human Rights Commission Te Kahui Tika Tangata June 2019 ISSN: 978-0-478-35644-1 (Print) ISSN: 978-0-478-35645-8 (Online) Published June 2019 Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand It Happened Here Reports of race and religious hate crime in New Zealand 2004-2012 Foreword In the present publication, the Commission The Christchurch shootings have re-ignited brings together, for the first time, its annual public debate about hate crime and hate summaries of the media reports on racially speech, but there is little information available and religiously motivated crime between about the extent of racially and religiously 2004 and 2012. We hope this compilation will motivated crime in New Zealand. Police do deepen understanding and inform discussion. not collect this data, despite calls from the Around 100 incidents are included, ranging New Zealand Human Rights Commission from murder and kidnapping to serious since 2004, recommendations from the assault, threatening and disorderly behaviour, United Nations Committee on the Elimination abuse, deliberate damage to property and of Racial Discrimination in 2007 and 2017, desecration of sacred sites. Where the police and from the United Nations Human Rights have taken prosecutions, the courts have Council in 2009. Shortly after the Council treated the cases very seriously. made its recommendation in 2009, the Government of the day agreed with the As it has done for many years, the recommendation but said it was not a priority. Commission continues to argue that the The recommendation has never been authorities should gather this information on actioned.
    [Show full text]
  • FROM OFFENCES to VICTIMISATIONS: CHANGING STATISTICAL PRESENTATIONS of CRIME in NEW ZEALAND 1994-2017 July 2018
    FROM OFFENCES TO VICTIMISATIONS: CHANGING STATISTICAL PRESENTATIONS OF CRIME IN NEW ZEALAND 1994-2017 July 2018 Parliamentary Library Research Paper Introduction Until 2015 police offences were recorded by the New Zealand Police as two annual series – one for the calendar year ending December 31st (published around April), and one for the fiscal year ending June 30 (published around August). Beginning in fiscal 2015 the New Zealand police discontinued their statistical series on offences and initiated a new monthly statistical series on victimisations.1 The Parliamentary Library publishes the new victimisations statistics as a data series that is updated twice yearly, covering both the fiscal and calendar years from 2015. This research paper provides a longer-term perspective on crime in New Zealand by presenting and contrasting the two statistical series on crime in New Zealand. The first series examines calendar year offence statistics for the period 1994 – 2014; the second series examines calendar year victimisation statistics for the period 2015 – 2017. The paper examines: the incidence of crime (total offences, and total victimisations); the crime rate (offences and victimisations per capita); offences and victimisations by police district; the share of crime by offence or victimisation category. No international comparisons of crime are attempted in this paper, since meaningful comparisons of crime cannot be made between different jurisdictions. Differences among societies with different levels of socio- economic development as well as differences in criminal justice systems influence the rates at which crimes are reported by victims. In particular the way crimes are recorded by the police – how crimes are defined, categorised, reported, and counted – make it very difficult to make meaningful comparisons.
    [Show full text]
  • Pacific Youth and Violent Offending in Aotearoa New Zealand Pacific Youth and Violent Offending in Aotearoa New Zealand
    Pacific youth and violent offending in Aotearoa New Zealand Pacific youth and violent offending in Aotearoa New Zealand Julia Ioane, Auckland University of Technology, Ian Lambie, University of Auckland Pacific youth offenders in Aotearoa New Zealand are over-represented in the offenders (who constitute the other rates of violent offences. The purpose of this study was to explore the risk larger ethnic youth groups in Aotearoa). factors that exist amongst this group. Using file data from the New Zealand The definition of a ‘Violence’ offence Police, the offending behaviour and social demographic characteristics of reflects that of the New Zealand Police. 200 Pacific violent youth offenders aged 10–24 years were investigated. These include Homicide, Kidnapping/ Results revealed that these youth were more likely to be born in Aotearoa, Abduction, Robbery, Grievous Assaults, raised in low socio-economic deprivation areas, and that their exposure Serious Assaults, Intimidation/Threats, and involvement in family violence was high. Furthermore, their first known Group Assemblies (see Appendix A). offence to Police was generally of a violent nature. Recommendations for Both in Aotearoa and overseas, the clinical practice and implications for future research are discussed. dearth of research regarding Pacific youth is acknowledged (Fiaui & Keywords: Pacific youth offenders, youth offenders, youth violent offending Hishinuma, 2009; Singh & White, 2000). In order to provide a brief review of the Pacific people are a rapidly growing, Given the fact that the Pacific existing literature, the authors examined diverse and vibrant population. They community in Aotearoa have such a Pacific studies in Aotearoa and overseas, include those born in the islands and youthful population; and that a number of including local and international studies overseas.
    [Show full text]
  • Booksnz.CO.NZ New Zealand Books [000248] Mcclymont, W.G
    BooksNZ.CO.NZ New Zealand Books [000248] McClymont, W.G. The Exploration of New Zealand. Dept of Internal Affairs, 1940. Very Good / No Jacket. 202 pages $35.00 [000289] Oman, Carola. Nelson. History Book Club, 1967. Very Good / Very Good. 612 pages, reprint of 1947 edition by Hodder & Stoughton $20.00 [000350] Sharp, Andrew. Duperrey's Visit to New Zealand in 1824. Alexander Turnbull Library, 1971. First Edition. Fine / Fine. 125 pages plus map $40.00 [000371] Sutherland, Allan. Flags of New Zealand. Signed by Author. Very Good 19 pages,small pamphlet $25.00 [000378] Taylor, T.D.. New Zealands Naval Story. A.H & A.W. Reed, 1948. First Edition. Very Good / Very Good. 337 pages $160.00 [000379] Taylor, T.D.. New Zealands Naval Story. A.H & A.W. Reed, 1948. First Edition. Very Good / Good. 337 pages, browing on D/J $125.00 [000435] Stevenson, H.K. Port and People : Century at the Port of Napier. Hawke's Bay Harbour Board, 1977. First Edition. Very Good / Very Good. 352 pages, small tear on D/J, copy number 1833 or a limited edition of 2500 copies) $120.00 [000449] Jordan, Humphrey. Mauretania (Landfalls & Departures of 25 years). Hodder and Stoughton, 1936. First Edition. Good / No Jacket. 332 pages, some spotting otherwise quite good. $85.00 [000450] Monsarrat, Nicholas. East Coast Corvette. Cassel & Co, 1943. Good / Good. 80 pages, 1st australian edition, D/J has tears. $12.00 [000494] Anon. Akaroa and Banks Peninsula 1840 - 1940. Akaroa Mail Co. Ltd, Very Good / No Jacket. 396, story of early whaling activities in New Zealand $80.00 [000500] Millar, David.
    [Show full text]
  • Maori and the Media
    http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/ Research Commons at the University of Waikato Copyright Statement: The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis. The Portrayal of Maori Offenders by the Media A thesis Submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree Of Masters of Social Sciences At The University of Waikato By HEATHER FARR THE UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO Te Whare Wananga o Waikato 2019 1 Abstract In this study I examine the dominant discourses represented in the print and internet media reporting of offending by Maori. The purpose of which is to analyse the dominant discourse and subject positions associated with offending by Maori. Foucault Discourse Analysis was utilised whereby the data was collected through articles printed in the New Zealand Herald and the Dominion Post. This study suggests that there are multiple and complex factors relating to Maori offending, whereby reporting about Maori offending is presented from a mainstream worldview. 2 Contents page Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 2 Contents page .....................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Fall of Crime in Christchurch
    Examining the spatial and temporal patterns of crime in pre- and post-earthquake Christchurch A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Masters in Geographic Information Science at the University of Canterbury by Marcus Elliot King Department of Geography University of Canterbury 2016 1 Abstract The 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquakes brought devastation to the city of Christchurch and has irrevocably affected the lives of the city’s residents. Years after the conclusion of these earthquakes, Christchurch and its residents are well on the path to recovery. Crime has proven an ongoing topic of discussion throughout this period, with news reports of increased burglary and arson in areas left largely abandoned by earthquake damage, and a rise in violent crime in suburban areas of Christchurch. Following the body of research that has considered the reaction of crime to natural disasters, this research has sought to comprehensively examine and understand the effects that the Canterbury Earthquakes had on crime. Examining Christchurch-wide offending, crime rates fell over the study period (July 2008 to June 2013), with the exception of domestic violence. Aside from a momentary increase in burglary in the days immediately following the Christchurch Earthquake, crime rates (as of 2013) have remained largely below pre-earthquake levels. Using Dual Kernel Density Estimation Analysis, a distinct spatial change in pre-earthquake crime hotspots was observed. These changes included an enormous decrease in central city offences, a rise in burglary in the eastern suburbs, and an increase in assault in areas outside of the central city. Logistic regression analysis, using a time-compensated dependent variable, identified a number of statistically-significant relationships between per CAU crime rate change and factors measuring socio-demographic characteristics, community cohesion, and the severity of disaster effects.
    [Show full text]