Caption: Mayor Paula Southgate with Hamilton city area Police Commander, Inspector Andrea McBeth (photo: Stuff/Waikato Times).
Paula Southgate, Mayor of Hamilton.
New Zealand is facing unprecedented levels of crime, with an increasing number of kiwis feeling unsafe – from 9.3 percent in 2018 to 15.1 percent in 2024.
Councils across New Zealand work hard to create strong local communities, where people can feel safe and thrive, but crime and antisocial behaviour can significantly undermine our efforts.
In Hamilton, crime was one of the top concerns for voters in the last local government election, as it was more recently during the national elections.
Crime and disorder, whether real or perceived, affects all aspects of our daily lives, and our feelings about the place we live or work in.
Hamilton city is certainly not immune to the effects of rising crime, nor anti-social behaviour. I regularly hear of issues here. Like you, I am also confronted by increasingly violent issues across New Zealand, on the news or on social media. Since 2023, the most significant increase in offending in Hamilton has been theft and dishonesty related offences, including retail crime. In just the last month alone, some businesses and members of the community have contemplated relocating elsewhere due to safety concerns.
Local businesses who suffer the consequences of crime, or antisocial behaviour, always ask what council is doing or can do about it. It is an excellent question, and one that I ask myself often. As Mayor, my aspiration is for Hamilton to be a great city, where people feel safe.
Law enforcement is, of course, primarily an issue for the police, but the community do not necessarily see the distinction, expecting councils to play a key role. Hamiltonians want council to make the city a safe and pleasant place to live in and do business.
The police do excellent work with super-stretched resources. However, I strongly believe a partnership focus is the only way for meaningful progress to be made.
In Hamilton, we have appreciated an excellent, strategic relationship with police through a focused taskforce group. Working together with other stakeholders, Hamilton has identified several key actions to help address crime in our city and tackle some of the root causes.
We successfully secured a million dollars in Government Crime Prevention funding to enable us to roll out 11 initiatives, including supporting at risk businesses to enhance their building security; implementing infrastructure, such as CCTV and licence plate recognition; and providing 24-hour youth mentoring and support.
Further to this, we have invested heavily in our Camera Operations Centre over the past three years, which has enhanced outcomes in crime deterrence and assisted police to quickly identify and apprehend offenders.
Our City Safety Officers who patrol the city, also offer a visible deterrent to criminal or antisocial activity, and provide a sense of security to residents and visitors.
Through this multi-faceted and multi-agency approach, police data shows a significant reduction in ram raids and youth offending in 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
It is a start, but more can and must be done. There is no magic solution to crime, no one size fits all fix. It is a complex and ever-changing issue. Councils across New Zealand are tackling it in different ways. Housing issues, albeit emergency homes, or lack of affordable homes, a huge increase in family harm, addictions, youth well-being and truancy, all have an impact. Our social well-being agencies face significant challenges every day, and many are operating on low or insufficient funding.
In my view, effective crime prevention demands a coordinated approach. We must bring together central and local government, diverse agencies, organisations, and the community, to share their baskets of knowledge and resources. Of course, this is not easy because the day-to-day work of these organisations, including seeking funding, is huge, if not overwhelming.
Sadly, councils can also only do so much to support our communities. Much of what is needed is simply not part of our role. However, to create safe communities we must focus on what is realistic and doable and bring the community along for the journey. We need to have tough and open conversations.
I, as other mayors, have supported the push for police to be properly resourced to do their job. So, I welcome the Government’s support for greater police numbers, which is especially important in the fastest growing centres.
Current bylaws also present enforcement challenges, as only police have the authority to issue immediate infringement notices for lower-level breaches.
There are some tools that could help councils play a greater role, as an enabler of safer communities. For example: changing laws and providing funding mechanisms to grant council staff the power to issue on-the-spot fines for bylaw breaches would ensure immediate action against non-compliant behaviour. Even the authority to seize property or belongings associated with bylaw breaches, could help us to address low-level offences and deter an escalation.
Councils are also a key “place maker” and it is well proven that thoughtful urban design for public spaces can deter crime. We need to move beyond a focus on aesthetics and focus on including greater CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design). This focuses on aspects such as lighting, visibility, activation, and other security factors in public spaces. Some councils across the country have utilised CPTED design principles well, but there is always more to do, and it would be helpful to draw from successful overseas examples. Here in Hamilton, I am committed to exploring and implementing this, alongside our community, property owners and developers. I want safety and public comfort to be a key consideration in every redevelopment, to make Hamilton city safer. We are eager to learn from others in this space.
Overall, it is clear the status quo will not work. If we want to see real change, we must look further afield than the traditional siloed approach.
Easier said than done, but I am an optimist. I firmly believe if we all play a part, by sharing knowledge and solutions, we can reshape our future and ensure safer communities – returning to the days of welcoming open doors at local dairies, shops, and services, where everyone feels safe. This is what I want for Hamilton. This is what we should all work towards for New Zealand.