Justice Minister Annette King today launched the pilot programme for CARPARK+ Safer Parking, a scheme aimed at reducing vehicle crime and fear of crime in parking facilities.

 

Ms King said that CARPARK+ will provide a practical tool for reducing both crime and fear of crime in car parks, and will encourage improvements in parking facilities.

 

"Vehicle crime costs New Zealand an estimated $60 million annually and accounts for 16 percent of total recorded crime. This scheme is aimed at reducing both opportunistic and professional vehicle crime.

 

"It will provide guidance and incentives to owners, operators, and developers of new and existing parking facilities to establish and maintain a safe and secure parking environment, and most importantly, it will allow the public to make informed decisions about their choice of parking facilities, thereby using market forces to promote safer and more secure car park environments."

 

The initiative is part of the Vehicle Crime Reduction Programme and encourages parking facilities to meet specific safety criteria guided by the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. Facilities that meet the CARPARK+ standards will be recognised as ‘safer parking' facilities, indicating that they have measures in place to reduce levels of crime and fear of crime. 

 

Ms King said the pilot is being led by the Ministry of Justice in conjunction with Police, Auckland City Council, Waitakere City Council and Hutt City Council over twelve months beginning today.

Multi-agency groups will assess car park facilities using the principles outlined in the CARPARK+ Safety Manual compiled by Auckland City Council, she said. 

Contact: John Harvey (04) 471 9305; John Saunders (04) 470 6851.

 

 

Questions and Answers

Why target vehicle crime?

Vehicle crime is defined as theft of and from vehicles, and is a significant problem in New Zealand.  In 2007 there were 66,796 recorded thefts of and from vehicles.  This was 16 percent of total recorded crime. It is estimated that 70 percent of car thefts are opportunistic, including joyriding and stealing a vehicle to commit another offence.  Professional vehicle crime, which involves stealing cars and/or their identity for profit, is thought to account for 30 percent of vehicle crime. The International Crime Victim Survey (2007) ranks New Zealand as the worst country for thefts from cars. This survey compared 30 countries in 2004 and 2005.

 

How will CARPARK+ make car parks safer for people?

The safety features for this initiative have been derived from Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principals, which focus on reducing the opportunities for crimes to be committed. The four key principals employed in the CPTED guidelines are:

• Surveillance --- includes features such as car park layout and design, lighting levels, technical supervision and vegetation maintenance.
• Access control --- includes making the number of entry and exit points to and from car parks clearly visible and easily accessible, keeping entry and exit points to a minimum and designing a vehicle access system to clearly delineate vehicle and pedestrian routes.
• Territorial reinforcement --- uses boundary markers to communicate to people where they should and should not be and what activities or actions are appropriate for an area.
• Space and activity management to create quality environments --- includes vandalism eradication policies, vegetation maintenance policies and management policies.

The CPTED guidelines were developed by the Ministry of Justice for those involved in planning, designing and managing publicly accessible places. The National CPTED Guidelines define seven qualities that characterise well-designed, safer places and form the basis for the Safe Car Park Guidelines.

 

What are the benefits to owners and operators who participate in this pilot?

Owners and operators will be making a commitment to their customers by providing a high quality parking facility that is perceived as safe and has measures in place to reduce the level of crime. They will belong to a proactive scheme to reduce crime and improve public service, and as the scheme gains public awareness, motorists may choose car parks that meet the CARPARK+ standard when selecting where to park.

 

What is the cost of being part of CARPARK+?

The cost will be uniform across New Zealand and are likely to include charges for an audit against the criteria within the CARPARK+ Safety Manual; an on-site assessment; preparation of reports and feedback to verify necessary actions; and issue of a certificate and signage to acknowledge the standard has been met. Costs are yet to be established and will be identified through the life of the pilot.

 

What are the other components of the Vehicle Crime Reduction Programme (VCRP)?

The VCRP contains six initiatives that are progressing towards implementation.

 

Compulsory whole of vehicle marking (WOVM)

WOVM is a system that assigns a unique 17 digit vehicle identification number to each vehicle upon importation into New Zealand.  These numbers, in the form of microdots, are placed on overt and covert parts of the vehicle to make it more difficult to alter the vehicles identity, and make it easier to recognise and identify stolen vehicle parts. It will apply to all new and used vehicles less than 8 years old that are imported after the regime comes into effect.

 

Compulsory Immobilisation

Immobilisers interrupt the power supply required to start an engine and can only be overridden by the correct electronic signal.  They are recognised internationally as the best way to reduce opportunistic theft of vehicles. Compulsory immobilisation will apply to all new and used vehicles less than 8 years old that are imported after the regime comes into effect. This policy is currently being considered by Cabinet.

 

Comprehensive Auto Theft Research System Database membership (CARS)

The CARS database is an Australian crime research tool that integrates police, registration and insurance vehicle theft data.  CARS is considered to be the world's most comprehensive and sophisticated vehicle crime research database. It allows Police and partner organisations to develop smarter, intelligence-led strategies targeting vehicle crime, and also helps tailor strategies to tackle local theft patterns. Although there are currently IT and information gathering issues that are preventing New Zealand joining the CARS database, work is progressing on attempting to make the systems compatible.

 

Enhanced Vehicle Deregistration System (EVDS)

EVDS is designed to make it difficult for criminals to use registration plates and vehicle identification numbers (VINS) from deregistered cars. 

 

Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Group (VCRAG)

The proposed vehicle crime reduction group (VCRAG) would comprise senior representatives from government and industry and would:

• implement and monitor the VCRP initiatives
• recommend agency reforms and monitor progress
• identify and recommend additional vehicle crime reduction initiatives

 

This group has not been established and the work is coordinated by officials groups that meet periodically to review the individual projects.