Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Viv Beck: Heart of the City CEO on the drop in retail crime in the Auckland CBD

Transcript

Viv Beck: Heart of the City CEO on the drop in retail crime in the Auckland CBD · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And a glimmer of hope on the crime front for
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: our country's best known street, Queen Street and the Auckland CBD.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: The latest police figures from April to June this year
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: show that theft and burglary and the CBD are down
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: thirty four percent on the same period last year. The
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: council is about to chuck some more money through a
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: targeted rate at safety. Do we believe the stats? Some
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: in the city say they don't. Vivbeck is with Heart
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: of the City Chief Executive. Good morning, good morning, Good
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: to have you on the show. Viv Do you believe
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  Speaker 1: these stats? I mean, is that what you see when
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: you walk around the CBD.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Oh, we definitely see improvement. I think the big thing
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: is we've been wanting to see a coordinated cross agency approach,
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  Speaker 2: not as police but also the social development, health housing
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  Speaker 2: and that is the difference. We've actually got that happening now.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: We've wanted to see it for about three years and
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: the crime is tracking down. I know not everyone will
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: see it yet, but the reality is it has significantly
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: improved and it's really there's some urgency turpos to the
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: work and we're really pleased about that.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Some reckon some local landlords reckon that people just aren't
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: even bothering to report the crime, and that's what's behind
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: the decrease.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: I think there definitely has been that, and I think
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: people did get pretty disillusioned when police didn't come, particularly
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: in the worst of it, through that COVID and post
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: COVID period, and there is likely to be still some
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: of that. We're encouraging people to report at all, whether
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: it's a criminal act or an antisocial or whatever it is,
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: it needs to be reported, so there's clear data about
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: what's happening. But it is significantly improved. I know not
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: everyone is seeing it yet, but certainly what I'm seeing,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: what I'm hearing from a lot of people has significantly improved.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: I go to CBD quite a lot. I think you're right,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: it has improved somewhat. But you still see these people
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: wandering around, you know, in broad daylight, just paying on
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  Speaker 1: the street, or being a bit out grow or yelling
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  Speaker 1: and shouting. I mean, so if it's where are all
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: these people going?
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  Speaker 2: Do you know? That is the social side which really
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  Speaker 2: does still need We still need more support, for example,
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  Speaker 2: on the mental health. That's one of the things we've
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: really been wanting to see. So the health needs to
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: really come to the party here as well. Although people
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: locally are doing everything they can, there's effort going to
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: housing people. I think there's also a stronger focus on
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: what's acceptable and what's not. You know, COVID was pretty
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: difficult all round.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Do you think we just got a bit loose with
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  Speaker 1: acceptable behavior? We just thought, know, well, everyone's a bit nuts,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: let's just put up with it.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Well, I don't think it was deliberate, but I think
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: obviously there was more crime, we didn't have enough police,
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: and we've wanted to make sure there were people who
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: were able to engage with people who need different forms
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: of support. So the three things we identified three and
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: a half years ago was around mental health, addiction, better
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: management of housing, as well as the stronger police business.
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  Speaker 2: So it's a common of those things that are actually
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: going to really get on top of this. It's not
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: it's still a way to go, but it is significantly better.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much for that, Vive Beck, Heart of
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: the City in auc.
• 3:10
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• 3:13
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• 3:16
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