Media Release
13 October 1999
New Zealand First believes that National should have been tough on gangs and drug dealers for the past nine years
instead of leaving it a few weeks before an election campaign.
"While National is congratulating themselves on the crime statistics, closer examination will show that nationally,
violent crime has risen, and provincial areas like Northland have recorded an increase.
"The true picture is that crime has stabilised at a very high level.
"National, and Labour before them, have allowed the social environment in New Zealand to deteriorate to the extent that
the criminal is flourishing and our honest citizens are too scared to leave their homes," said Deputy Leader Peter
Brown.
ENDS