Westown

Westown recorded 155 offences in the last 12 months, a rate of 33.3 per 1,000 residents across about 4,650 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 Westown is 33.3 offences per 1,000 residents over the last 12 months, from 155 recorded offences across about 4,650 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 Westown is theft, with 65 recorded offences in the last 12 months — about 42% of all offences recorded there. The next most common is burglary (51).

Recorded offences in Westown have fallen 5.7% 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.

Westown ranks 14 of 66 suburbs in Taranaki Region by crime rate, where 1 is the highest rate. This is a ranking of recorded crime, not a safety rating, and it compares Westown only with other suburbs in Taranaki Region — not with the rest of New Zealand.

Figures for Westown, New Plymouth 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.