- By Naisi Chen, Labour List MP based in Botany
Making sure that east Auckland is a safe place to live, work and raise a family is a top priority for me.
At the moment, I know many of us are concerned about law and order. Local problems like dirt bikes in Botany and the fear of ramraids are making us feel less safe.
But that’s why the practical solutions the Government have announced recently are so important.
Last year New Zealand saw an unacceptable spike in ram raids and other retail crime.
While those numbers are trending down, we need to continue to support police to prevent crime and keep communities safe.
We recently announced that we’re more than doubling investment into the successful Retail Crime Prevention Fund.
This will ensure that retailers, like dairies, can continue to get support for practical security and safety measures, such as CCTV systems and strengthened glass.
We’re making sure that police have the tools and resources they need to do their job properly, including through more tactical training.
We’ve also delivered New Zealand’s largest ever police workforce. Here in Auckland, we’ve seen police numbers increase by 15.3 per cent since 2017.
Alongside this work, we’re focused on tackling the complex problems that cause crime as well as ensuring that appropriate consequences are in place.
We’ve rolled out a raft of measures to achieve this, including our Better Pathways package.
This package expanded programmes that support young people back onto the right track, including through education and training.
We know that there’s no single solution to tackling crime or the causes of it, and when offending does occur, our justice system needs to work for New Zealanders.
As part of our drive to make the justice system fairer for victims, we’re changing the law and trialling approaches that will better support victims in the courts.
We recently announced changes that will improve victims’ experiences and fix some real and immediate issues with the court system.
These include giving sexual assault victims more control in court processes around their name suppression and providing greater legal protections for victims, especially child victims, of sexual and serious violence.
To better support victims, we’ve also doubled the amount of investment for Victim Support and tripled the amount of investment into the Victim Assistance Scheme since coming into Government in 2017.
I’m really proud of the work we’re doing to catch criminals and make our community safer.
