1
May
2014
By Calvin at 11:32 GMT, 12 years ago
New Zealand leads the world in crime prevention and putting victims first, according to a visiting criminologist.
Gloria Laycock, Professor of Crime Science at University College, London, is in New Zealand for the Leading Justice Symposium, held yesterday in Wellington.
She told attendees, including Prime Minister John Key and Justice Minister Judith Collins, that New Zealand's approach to fighting crime is working.
"I think you think you're not doing too well, but I actually think you're right at the top," she said on Firstline this morning.
"The way things are going in New Zealand, you'll be having people beating a path to your door."
Ms Collins says crime in New Zealand is at a 36-year low, which she attributes to stiffer sentencing, rehabilitation "attitudinal change", among other things.
But Professor Laycock says crime has been dropping worldwide for decades, and even criminologists don't agree on what's causing it.
In her view, would-be criminals don't have as many opportunities as they once did.
"We've now got deadlocks and immobilisers on cars, we've got better home security, people are looking after themselves much more than maybe they used to do," says Prof Laycock.
"The game now is to keep that up."
Read the rest and watch the short interview with the professor at this link to 3 News http://www.3news.co.nz/NZ-best-in-the-world-at-fighting-crime---expert/tabid/423/articleID/342134/Default.aspx
