Source: Radio New Zealand
Overall violent crime has decreased but family violence is at its highest since 2018. 123RF
Overall violent crime has decreased but family violence is at its highest since 2018, a report by the Salvation Army has found.
The charity’s State of the Nation report collects data from agencies like Police and the Ministry of Justice.
It estimates 147,000 people were victims of violent crime in the 12 months to August 2025, compared to around 200,000 the previous year.
“This improvement is largely driven by steep reductions in non‑sexual assault and robbery, which fell from 108,000 to 81,000, reaching their lowest levels in the series,” the report stated.
“Sexual assault declined more modestly … The recent downturn is attributed to several factors, including increased frontline policing in high‑harm urban areas and significant reductions in non-family violence.”
But the report found the number of charges for family harm had increased by 3.9 percent, and police had issued 9.7 percent more safety orders due to domestic violence.
“Police safety orders (PSOs) saw the most significant growth, climbing to 27,077 in 2025 (compared to 24,676 in 2024),” the report said.
“For the police, the steady rise in PSOs reflects a broader shift toward proactive policing and early intervention.”
The latest data on child poverty was from 2024, but showed the situation had worsened since 2023.
In 2024, 156,000 children were in material hardship, compared to 144,000 in 2023.
Other findings in the report included a decrease in drug use and charges for driving under the influence.
Police performed 4.22 million breath tests in 2025, up from 3.58m in 2024, but the number of people charged for driving under the influence modestly decreased, by 2 percent.
Overall drug use was also down, but the number of people using cocaine remained high.
In 2025, 2.4 percent of the population used cocaine, slightly down from 2.5 percent in 2024 but still double what it had been in 2022 (1.2 percent).
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
