New Zealand is generally a very safe country with a low crime rate. That being said, there is no country without its share of crime, and this is particularly true when speaking about the more populated areas such as cities. The biggest problems that I came across in my research that New Zealand faces in terms of crime are domestic abuse and youth gang culture. New Zealand is rated very poorly in comparison with other countries for its high amount of domestic abuse towards women. Research found that over a third of women had experienced violence from their partner during the 2000-2010 period. This astonishingly high statistic is in addition to the country’s high rate of sexual violence. This has become a major social issue in New Zealand due to the country’s failure to lower the domestic violence rates despite its campaign attempts as well as its inability address the core social issues. So why is New Zealand plagued with so much domestic violence? The main reasons are its lack of funding to support services for the abused and its police force is generally untrained in handling domestic abuse (such as recognizing its signs). New Zealand’s other major crime problem, its youth gangs, has a deep rooted history in New Zealand dating all the way back to its colonial period. Although it wasn’t always such a big problem, more recently youth gangs have been causing a big enough spike in the crime rate that they have garnered media and police attention. Most notable is the ‘Killer Bees’ which had a police operation directed at them in 2008. One of the reasons for this sudden growth in serious crime perpetrated by New Zealand gangs is the cultural influence of American media. Gang culture in America has spread to New Zealand and influenced them to be more violent, especially the youth who try to emulate what they have seen. There are gangs which identify as exclusively Maori such as the Mongrel Mob, one of the biggest gangs in New Zealand. These gangs are attributed with more violent crime than the other gangs. Due to this, there are stereotypes perpetuated about the Maori people about violent behavior and being unsophisticated. This is in addition to the subdued but observable racism present in New Zealand against the Maori people.
Sources
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/parl-support/research-papers/00PLSocRP09021/young-people-and-gangs-in-new-zealand
http://www.aljazeera.com/humanrights/2014/12/domestic-violence-epidemic-new-zealand-2014129121339461174.html
https://womensrefuge.org.nz/WR/Domestic-violence/Domestic-violence.htm
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5332717/NZ-worst-for-domestic-violence-UN-report
Sources
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/parl-support/research-papers/00PLSocRP09021/young-people-and-gangs-in-new-zealand
http://www.aljazeera.com/humanrights/2014/12/domestic-violence-epidemic-new-zealand-2014129121339461174.html
https://womensrefuge.org.nz/WR/Domestic-violence/Domestic-violence.htm
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5332717/NZ-worst-for-domestic-violence-UN-report