Sexual Crimes Drop During Driving Blitz (Press, 11 August 1978)
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Summary: Sexual Crimes Drop During Driving Blitz (Press, 11 August 1978)
The number of crimes associated with anti-social behaviour saw a significant decline of 70.4 per cent during a two-week campaign aimed at tackling drunk driving, as reported by police data released on 10 August 1978 by Marilyn Waring, the National MP for Raglan. The campaign, which took place from 15 July to 31 July, coincided with a noticeable reduction in various types of offences. The most substantial decline was noted in cases of immoral behaviour, while sexual offences dropped by 78.5 per cent and serious assaults decreased by 75.3 per cent. Additionally, incidents of domestic, drug-related, or anti-social offences also fell by almost 70 per cent. The police compared the reported offences during the campaign with figures from the first two weeks of July. However, preliminary observations from police district commanders indicated that there were generally no significant changes in violent crime rates in their areas, with some citing a "quiet period" unrelated to the Ministry of Transport's campaign. Despite this, the report acknowledged that there was a marked impact from the anti-drinking initiative on the reduction of reported offences. Waring expressed concerns about the lack of available statistics to definitively link alcohol consumption with incidents of violence. However, she pointed out that police workloads tended to peak immediately after closing time for bars, serving as an indicator of the correlation between alcohol and disorderly behaviour. Moving forward, a more thorough examination of crime statistics during the anti-drinking campaign is scheduled, which will include all areas of police activity beyond just violent and anti-social crimes.
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