Palmerston

Palmerston recorded 37 offences in the last 12 months, a rate of 35.1 per 1,000 residents across about 1,053 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 Palmerston is 35.1 offences per 1,000 residents over the last 12 months, from 37 recorded offences across about 1,053 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 Palmerston is theft, with 17 recorded offences in the last 12 months — about 46% of all offences recorded there. The next most common is burglary (13).

Recorded offences in Palmerston have stayed level 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.

Palmerston ranks 26 of 138 suburbs in Otago Region by crime rate, where 1 is the highest rate. This is a ranking of recorded crime, not a safety rating, and it compares Palmerston only with other suburbs in Otago Region — not with the rest of New Zealand.

Figures for Palmerston, Waitaki 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.