New crime figures show a significant increase in vehicle theft and growing levels of people falling victim to online fraud.

Figures are out today for the Ministry of Justice's sixth annual crime and victimisation survey which canvassed over 7100 people's experience of crime between October 2022 to November 2023.

The survey showed vehicle theft increasing by 47 per cent - with 19,000 more reported instances in 2023 than the previous year.

Rebecca Parish of the Ministry of Justice says the increase was in line with international trends which also mirrored growing occurrences of fraud and cyber crime.

"Last year we reported a major increase in the rate of people victimised by fraud. This trend continued in 2023, with 10 per cent of New Zealanders experiencing fraud in the last 12 months.

"This makes it the most common offence in New Zealand."

Two-thirds of fraud was identified by unauthorised bank transactions while scam online purchases accounted for 20 per cent.

The rise fraud and deception was also attributed to growing numbers of Asian adults targeted by crime.

Nearly 30 per cent experienced at least one instance of crime last year, up six per cent from when the survey began in 2018.

The proportion of Māori adults impacted by crime had steadily dropped over the last six years, down to 34 per cent in the last year.

That figure remained higher than the overall average of people who experience at least one instance of crime with young people, disabled people and members of the LGBT+ community also experiencing higher than average levels of victimisation.

Police say the proportion of the population impacted by crime had remained comparatively steady over the last six years at 32 per cent in 2023, up only one per cent on the previous year.

They say nearly two-thirds of people report high levels of trust in the police and the levels of reporting crime were continuing to grow.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says he welcomed the report's insights.

"The survey shows that overall, high trust and confidence in police remains strong at 67 per cent and that the public consistently feel that police will treat them professionally (83 per cent).

"That is a tribute to how our staff go about their roles every day, working closely with communities to keep them safe.

"Levels of incident reporting to police continue to improve, especially in areas like interpersonal violence. We have invested heavily over the last few years to make reporting easier, and we are pleased that is having a positive effect.

"Reporting of crime helps police build a clearer picture of what is happening in our communities and deploy to prevent crime and reassure our communities."

But Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says the overall levels of crime detailed in the survey were "shameful" and more needed to be done to combat growing numbers of people who felt unsafe in their communities and homes.

"There were 185,000 New Zealanders who experienced 449,000 incidents of violent crime, including physical and sexual assault, and robbery. "

"Sadly, the survey found more New Zealanders felt unsafe than the year prior, even if they weren't a victim of a crime," Paul says.

"This is unacceptable. That's why this government backs the police to do their job more effectively and will ensure there are serious consequences for crime."

He says the recently announced sentencing reform package would back up police work with the goal of reducing the number of victims of violent crime by 20,000 and a 15 per cent reduction in serious repeat youth offending by 2029.

"We're also backing police to go after criminal gangs, restoring Three Strikes legislation, getting more officers on the beat, establishing military-style academies and a new Young Serious Offender declaration, and speeding up court processes.

"This government will not sit by and let these figures get worse. We're taking action and will ensure all Kiwis feel safe in their communities."

-RNZ