Young Jonathan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Young Jonathan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 21 March 2012. Volume:678;Page:1142. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
3. 
JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: What steps is the Government taking to improve public services in law and order? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 As part of the Government’s wider focus on better public services last week the Prime Minister set two targets for improving performance in the justice sector. The first is reducing the rates of total crime including violent crime and youth crime and the second is reducing reoffending. Criminal offending is like a tax on every New Zealander. It has an appalling cost for victims their families and communities. The Government has clearly shown its commitment to improving law and order in New Zealand over the past 3 years and further reducing crime and reoffending is a key target that will benefit all New Zealanders. 
Jonathan Young 
: How has the Government’s focus on law and order in the past 3 years affected New Zealand’s crime rate? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: Under this Government the public is safer than it has been for many years. Crime is now at a 30-year low. The number of people going through our courts is falling and we are experiencing the first sustained fall in the prison population since the 1930s. This is excellent news for New Zealand. The total recorded crime rate for 2010—[ 
Interruption 
]; they do not like hearing this do they—was a full 26 percent lower than its peak in 1992 and 80 percent of all serious crime is now being resolved. This Government is clearly focused on preventing crime addressing the drivers of crime the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders and better support for victims. Our approach is clearly working. 
Jonathan Young 
: What is the Government doing to achieve these targets and why? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: Over the last term this Government has driven more than 20 significant initiatives to improve the justice sector and to make New Zealand a safer place. These include the Policing Excellence programme addressing the drivers of crime making sure that the worst recidivist violent offenders are in jail and initiatives to speed up court processes. We have and are expanding alcohol and drug treatment rehabilitation programmes. We now know that we can reduce reoffending and we are working with iwi and community groups to deliver rehabilitation to offenders. The cycle of violence and reoffending— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Question time is not a time for speeches. 
Charles Chauvel 
: What steps has she taken to address the current level of widespread breaching of police safety orders and the chronic underfunding of important public watchdogs like the Ombudsman and the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and to lift the current burglary clearance rate from below its miserable level of under 25 percent? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: In relation to the police safety orders of course this Government brought them in. Under the previous Government they did not even exist. I have had a look at the breaching rates on them and actually they are not anywhere near what anyone else would expect. When I was the Minister of Police I made sure we had monthly statistical indicators. They are on the police website and I am sure that member would be improved if he had a look at them.