Watlington

Watlington recorded 36 offences in the last 12 months, a rate of 16.1 per 1,000 residents across about 2,241 residents. These are offences recorded by New Zealand Police, which reflect what was reported and recorded rather than all crime that occurred.

The crime rate in Watlington is 16.1 offences per 1,000 residents over the last 12 months, from 36 recorded offences across about 2,241 residents. A rate counts offences against a suburb's resident population, so town centres and commercial areas can show high rates because offences there involve people who do not live there.

The most common offence category in Watlington is theft, with 20 recorded offences in the last 12 months — about 56% of all offences recorded there. The next most common is burglary (11).

Recorded offences in Watlington have fallen 28.6% over the most recent three-month period compared with the previous three months. This is a three-month comparison, not a year-on-year one, and short windows move around a lot in small areas.

Watlington ranks 216 of 331 suburbs in Canterbury Region by crime rate, where 1 is the highest rate. This is a ranking of recorded crime, not a safety rating, and it compares Watlington only with other suburbs in Canterbury Region — not with the rest of New Zealand.

Figures for Watlington, Timaru District come from New Zealand Police recorded victimisation data, published through police.govt.nz, and are grouped to Stats NZ Statistical Area 2 (SA2) boundaries. They count offences recorded by Police, so they reflect reporting and recording practice as well as underlying offending.