Ministry of Justice sector insights general manager Rebecca Parish said fraud and cybercrime often went unreported. Photo: 123RF
Fraud and deception crimes are rising sharply, almost doubling in the year ending November, according to a new report.
The New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS), released Wednesday morning, showed nearly a third of New Zealanders said they were victims of crime during the 12-month period.
Although the overall figures were consistent with previous years, an increase in deception and fraud offences - including credit card fraud - was singled out, surging from 288,000 cases to 510,000.
Ministry of Justice sector insights general manager Rebecca Parish said fraud and cybercrime often went unreported.
"Reasons for not reporting a crime vary. Overall, the most common reason that people give for not reporting is that they think the incident is too trivial to be worth reporting."
The ministry said only about a quarter of crime is reported to the police.
The NZCVS, based on face-to-face victim interviews across the country, does not cover commercial and retail crime, including ram raids, nor murder and manslaughter.
"However, if an individual experiences interpersonal violence in their workplace this would still be covered in the survey," Parish said.
"It's important to remember that behind every statistic is a person and their personal experience."
Other common crimes reported included burglaries, physical assault and robbery.
People who identify as LGBT+, people separated from a partner or spouse, and Māori were significantly more likely to experience at least one crime, according to the report.
Slight decreases in sexual assault (0.1 percent) and personal violence (1 percent) were also found.
The report also showed trust and confidence in police "remains high", sitting at 69 percent, although lower than in previous years.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the volume of people reporting crime through new online channels was growing, although a small proportion of people who are most heavily victimised are reporting "fewer of repeat victimisations".
"The NZCVS report finds that in 2022 the public experienced spikes in a few areas of crime - in particular online fraud, but overall levels of crime in the community remained relatively stable during this period."
Coster said a decline in trust in the police could be attributed to the tail end of the country's Covid-19 response, which had been "controversial with some communities".
Other factors he highlights include public confidence in government institutions and policing in particular, both in New Zealand and abroad, and visible crime trends locally, including ram raids and inter-gang violence.
'Tip of the iceberg'
Victim Support believed the figures were "just the tip of the iceberg" and changes were needed.
The charity supported more than 46,000 victims of crime, trauma and suicide last year and said the NZCVS continued to show a worrying trend that most New Zealanders were not reporting crime.
Spokesperson Dr Petrina Hargrave said the organisation was concerned around the amount of underreporting to police occurring when it came to fraud and cybercrime.
"Our biggest concern is that victims are remaining invisible and not getting the support they need. Behind these statistics are New Zealanders who are suffering alone."
Fraud and cybercrime however only made up a small proportion (1.4 percent) of the charity's clients.
"As a society we need to start addressing barriers to reporting crime and seeking help if we want to prevent crime and support victims."
Hargrave said fraud victims commonly experienced "victim blaming" and a societal narrative that suggested they were responsible for their own plight.
"To make sense of bad things happening, society tends to blame victims, and we do see this in fraud cases.
"Victim blaming is a rampant form of revictimisation that can prevent victims from coming forward and can prolong their suffering.
"When you add that to the fear many victims feel about engaging with the criminal justice system, you can see why people end up hiding away and not getting justice or the support they need to recover from crime."
