Known as CASS for short

For the latest NZCASS data, follow the website link. This report presents the findings from the 2006 New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey (NZCASS). It is part of an ongoing research programme. Two previous surveys have been conducted under the title "New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims", the first in 1996 (see Young et al., 1997), and the second in 2001 (see Morris and Reilly, 2003). The survey sought information on the following: extent of crime, including unreported crime; the reasons victims give for not reporting offences to the police, and the response of the police when crime is reported; identification of those most at risk of various crimes in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity; the nature of victimisation, such as the physical, financial and emotional effects; and confidence in the criminal justice system. Data was obtained via structured interviews with a nationally representative random sample of 4,229 people aged 15 and over. An additional 1,187 interviews were conducted with Maori to improve the reliability of estimates for this group. The results indicate that sexual offences accounted for 7% of the offences recorded by the survey. Over a third of the offences were committed by current partners and women were more at risk for this type of offence. Although respondents regarded sexual offences as serious, they were more likely to be thought of as not being crimes. In terms of confrontational offences committed by partners, it was found that 6% of men and 7% of women reported one or more partner offences in the category of assaults, threats to someone or their personal property. There was a concentration of risk for offences committed by partners. Some comparisons have been made with the 1996 and 2001 survey findings, but substantial limitations exist concerning some of these because of changes in the survey design of this report. The authors posit that future surveys are needed to be able to provide more certainty about whether crime has gone up, down, or remained the same. It is expected that during 2007 further analyses of the data will be conducted. There will be more information regarding offences committed by partners and other family members, including information on the extent of psychological abuse by intimate partners, and the differences in the nature of confrontational crime against men and women. This document has been archived by the National Library of New Zealand. A 16-page booklet is also available. Record #2610

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