How does safety in New Zealand compare with the UK?

Question

Obviously, safety will be different depending on if you're in a small town or a large city, but firstly, how do the bigger cities such as Auckland and Wellington compare with British cities like London and Birmingham, for violent crime and street crime such as mugging, pickpocketing, etc.

Also, does New Zealand have the problem the UK has of "working/lower class" youths, sometimes drunken, causing problems and looking for trouble with people who they don't approve of.

I'm an 18 year old male, inseresting in visiting New Zealand,but I'd have to alone. I guess I dress somewhat "alternatively" I wear tight jeans, fairly bright t shirts, etc. Generally, the UK is a fairly open minded society and people don't tend to judge of dress, but a lot of people looking for trouble for the fun will go for someone based on their dress.

How much of a problem is things such as this in New Zealand? Is it comparable to the UK, or safer/more dangerous?

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi, NZ is pretty good - racism is rife as you can tell from

Snow R's comments (I think he is probably a National Front {White power} supporter - sadly we have those types here). Crime is low in comparison to UK (travelled extensively around UK - was based in London - St James. Auckland isnt as bad as what people say - most of the people mentioning negative things have probably never lived there. Christchurch is very "white" (Im white so i dont think youll mind me mentioning that.) and back in the 80s and 90s was more volatile than Auckland. Neither Maori or Asian will give you c**p - your more likely to get it from stooges like Snow R and K Bear (undercover KKK). You'll like NZ. Not as smoggy or gruff as UK and a damned sight safer and warmer.

Answer 2

omg, you HAVE to move to Dunedin if you are worried about the whole "working/lower class" youth thing, it's actually not really a problem in New Zealand because its rather admired because they at least HAVE a job and are working...Why i say Dunedin? It's the town of students and its practically made for them, lol...There are a heap of students there and you can walk everywhere, it's relatively small from say London, WAY smaller with only about 200,000 people there...

There are a lot of personalities in Dunedin, i know i grew up there but am now living in California. Everyone basically hangs out with everyone. getting a place say if you want to rent with some other students can go as low as $50 a week..SOMETIMES!!! Don't base a budget with that..but most are under $100 nz dollars because there are a lot of Students there as well as young people...

There are some good clubs, i don't know what the UK clubs are like but Dunedin's ones are all within walking distance and always filled with people. And all you have to be is 18. I should mention that the main shopping area or whatever are all in one street so its always full and you will never go there without bumping into someone you know...It's not like full full but that full where everyone is out and having fun etc

Hope this helps, lol...i kept going on and on...SORRY!!!

Answer 3

Per head of population, New Zealand is worse - but as the population is so much less than UK - there are less incidents. If you are on your own you should avoid walking the streets late at night on your own in either Wellington or Auckland. You aren't likely to be attacked during the day and it isn't dress or race that  attracts crime, - it's either robbery for money - or the  drunken or drugged youths.

New Zealanders are very open-minded and I am not aware of any crimes based on looks or dress.

If you visit the website below you will see that there are 105.884 crimes per 1000 in NZ but 85.55 per 1000 in UK

Answer 4

I moved to Auckland from London a year ago.  I love it and find it wonderfully safe, I even go out and sometimes and forget to lock my house up.  Crime does happen but usually it occurs in specific areas (in Auckland's case, South Auckland where lots of gangsters and other undesirables live).

I do find that sometimes if I'm wearing something out of the ordinary that I bought in London people do stare and sometimes ask 'where did you get that , I bet its from overseas' - but they are generally accepting.  Kiwi's aren't rude people at all, more understated and inhibited than the Brits.

Answer 5

I know someone from Leeds & she laughs at the crime we have reported here compared to the violence, etc she's witnessed in the UK.  There has been an increase in murders over the last year or so right across the country, not just in any one area but don't let that scare you off.  Just don't go hitchhiking.  We don't generally have pickpocketing or mugging, actually house burglary is the common thing here so you need good security & insurance for your home.  Just avoid inner city parks at night time as they are common for rapes.  We don't have soccer hooligan type gangs traversing around the streets like the UK, we have very low unemployment here so there's not so much disillusionment like that.  There are gangs though but they generally fight each other & usually out in their own suburbs (especially South Auckland).   West Auckland is also a dodgy place (but worth going for their wild beaches - the NZ movie The Piano was filmed out there) and if you're into bushwalking The Waitakere Ranges in West Auckland are great, you're not likely to come across dodgy types at either of those places.   NZ is definately safer than the UK, flamboyant dress might be looked at strangely in small cities or rural areas though.  Travelling alone as a girl or guy is safe here, provided you use the usual common sense & you'll meet lots of other travellers anyway.  Also re what the person above is saying re crime being worse per capita, I don't beleive that at all, not sure where they got their statistics from.  It's safe to walk around Wellington & Auckland at night alone, I do it all the time to walk back to my car & I'm female!  You just use your common sense & stick to the areas filled with people.  Even so, my car is always parked in an isolated street near a massage parlour & I've never had a problem.  It's not like London or anything, I remember walking back to the youth hostel in London at night & got followed & there were all sorts of dodgy people around & I was staying near Hyde Park in a nice area so no you won't experience anything like what you get in the large British cities.

Answer 6

avoid small cities and areas with high number of pacific islanders and Maories. such as south Auckland. there are some areas you have to avoid

Answer 7

I have never been to the UK but I think New Zealand is rather safe.

I wouldn't walk around at night in Auckland and perhaps Chrsitchurch or Palmeston North but that's about it.

The only scary things you'll come across in nz are rude people yelling out of cars at you. That's the worst I got when I went on the holidays.

New Zealand is a wonderful place.

It is very safe now that I think of it.

Enjoy the trip =)

Answer 8

I depends on where you go ,at the moment Christchurch has alot of drunken teens  with fast cars. I'd say that Masterton would be a good place for people wanting quietness , but it is also quite boring .

Palmerston north is a big place for teens[ because of the university] that are having fun . The nightlife is pretty wild.

Answer 9

You will love Wellington our capital city which is really into being original and being yourself and is big into the arts etc...I would take the same precautions in NZ as you would any other cities in the world - it is unfortunate that there is a few minorities who cause most of the crime in NZ and some of these crimes are very violent.  If I were you, I would arrange a bus tour 18-35's etc to get a feel of the country and visit all the best places....I've heard they are fun and are safe...take care and have a good time!

Answer 10

Ive never bin 2 the UK. But i think NZ very VERY  safe in comparison to China(which ive bin 2 heapz).

So therefore i think NZ is much more safer than the UK

U should be fine with the tight jeans and bright tees - i cnt think of any probs there

Answer 11

There have been a few well-publicised attacks on tourists here in NZ, but I've lived here since 1968 and never been attacked.  Before coming to NZ I lived in the south of England.  I visited Worthing several times and I thought it was a stodgy, middle-class sort of place where people went to die.  But our new GP came from there and he said that there were some housing estates where he'd only make house calls with a police escort.  As for alternative clothes, we're nowhere near as conservative as back in the sixties.  There are as many different clothing styles here as in Europe or America.