Bay of Plenty has largest increase in violent crime
The Rotorua Daily Post reported:
In Rotorua, acts intended to cause injury, and theft and related offences were the highest they have been. Sexual assault and related offences were equal-highest with 2019.
And in Tauranga, sexual assault and related offences, theft and related offences, and robbery, extortion and related offences were higher than they have been in the past five years.
This got me interested in which areas have had the largest increases in violent crimes (formally acts intended to cause injury). So I collated the data below.
| Change | 2020 | 2017 | |
| Bay of Plenty | 52.7% | 6,950 | 4,550 |
| Waikato | 47.4% | 6,329 | 4,294 |
| Central | 35.5% | 6,086 | 4,492 |
| Northland | 28.5% | 2,432 | 1,893 |
| Waitemata | 28.3% | 4,503 | 3,510 |
| NZ | 22.6% | 61,423 | 50,105 |
| Wellington | 22.2% | 6,982 | 5,712 |
| Counties/Manukau | 17.2% | 9,577 | 8,169 |
| Eastern | 17.0% | 5,214 | 4,458 |
| Canterbury | 11.6% | 4,986 | 4,467 |
| Tasman | 0.3% | 1,941 | 1,935 |
| Auckland City | -0.5% | 3,688 | 3,706 |
| Southern | -6.3% | 2,735 | 2,919 |
As you can see the Bay of Plenty has had the largest increase in violent crime with a staggering 53% increase since 2017. Close behind is the Waikato on 47%.