Topical report, NZCVS Cycle 2 (2018-19), July 2020

How much do New Zealanders connect with others and how much do they trust each other? How much do they worry about experiencing crime? What do they think of the criminal justice system? And, for those who came into contact with the criminal justice system, how was their experience? These are the key questions we seek to answer in this report, which draws results from the New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS) Cycle 2 (2018/19) in-depth module on social wellbeing and institutional trust.

In 2018, the Government established the Hāpaitia te Oranga Tangata – Safe and Effective Justice initiative to guide a transformation of the criminal justice system. As New Zealand moves through a journey of reform, it is important to base decisions on evidence of the
strengths and weaknesses of the system. The results of this report shed light on areas of the criminal justice system that could be improved and made fairer for all New Zealanders. They also provide baseline data for the Government to look back to after changes are made, to
evaluate whether they were successful.

There are many positive insights inside this report. Most New Zealanders told us they feel safe and reported high levels of social connectedness and trust in others. Most adults who had recent contact with the criminal justice system said their experience was positive. Most
New Zealanders believe the Police and groups that support victims are doing a good job, and they have a high level of trust in those agencies. However, they have less-positive views of the other components of the criminal justice system – the parole board, probation officers,
criminal lawyers, the prison service, judges and juries. Furthermore, there are some strong disparities in social wellbeing, feelings of safety, and perceptions and experiences of the criminal justice system for different groups within the population.

A key group that stands out in this report as having different experiences and perceptions to other New Zealanders are those who had been a victim of crime in the previous 12 months. Compared to other adults, recent victims of crime tended to have lower social wellbeing, feel
less safe in their communities, and have less-positive views of criminal justice institutions. Adults who had recently attended court or a tribunal, or who had participated in a restorative justice conference, were also more likely to negatively rate their experience with the criminal
justice system than those who had other forms of contact with the system.

Another theme running through this report is that of disparities in the views and experiences of New Zealanders across ethnic groups. People of New Zealand European ethnicity tend to
report higher levels of social wellbeing than members of other ethnic groups, especially in terms of trust in other people. Pacific peoples and Indians tend to worry more about being the victim of a crime than other New Zealand adults. Māori and Pacific peoples are less likely than people of other ethnicities to agree that New Zeal anders are treated fairly by the Police. And Māori, Chinese and Pacific adults are all less likely to feel that their values align with the criminal justice system than other adults. These findings support calls for the criminal justice system to better reflect the diverse values and needs of New Zealanders.2
This report spans five key topics: social wellbeing, perceptions of crime and safety, perceptions of the criminal justice system, values and purpose of the criminal justice system and experiences with the criminal justice system. (From the Executive summary).

These findings come from the New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey, October 2018 - September 2019 (Cycle 2). Follow the links for information about this survey and other publications. See also the Key findings report (#6644). Record #6728