New Zealand Police has welcomed the latest results from the Ministry of Justice’s New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS), showing public trust and confidence in Police continues to grow.

The annual Police Module, which measures the public’s perceptions and experiences with Police, revealed trust and confidence has risen from 67% to 69% between October 2023 and October 2024.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Mike Pannett said building and maintaining public trust remains a top priority for Police.

“It is encouraging to see the numbers trending in the right direction,” he said.

Key findings from the Police Module include:

• 83% of people believe Police conduct their duties professionally
• 74% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the service they received
• The percentage of people with no trust and confidence in Police dropped to 2%, the lowest since the Police Module began

“These numbers are the direct result of the hard work our staff put in every day when dealing with victims of crime,” Mr Pannett said.

“They are dedicated and committed to preventing, investigating, and resolving crime across the country.”

He added that while the results are promising, there is still work to do.

One focus area is Police visibility, with 58% of respondents agreeing there is a suitable Police presence in their community.

“We would like to see that number increase,” Mr Pannett said.

As part of efforts to enhance visibility and improve public safety, Police are working to recruit an additional 500 officers as part of the Government’s commitment to increase frontline staff.

“These additional staff will make a difference in deterring crime, enforcing the law, and increasing feelings of public safety,” Mr Pannett said.

The NZCVS and the Police Module are important tools for shaping future decisions within New Zealand Police.

The survey was introduced in 2018 and aims to include 7,000 participants each year.

This latest round had 7,705 responses.

“These results show positive movement in areas of Police focus, such as our response to serious crimes,” Mr Pannett said.

“We have extremely high standards for our organisation and every one of the 15,000 people in it.”

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