Auckland's top police officer believes the city is still safe despite a spate of crime over the weekend.
Police are investigating a suspected homicide in the central city, the stabbing of a bus driver in Mount Roskill, the shooting of four people in Pukekohe and the assault of an elderly woman in her Piha home.
This comes as new data released by the National Party also shows retail crime across New Zealand has increased by almost 40 percent in the last year.
Assistant Commissioner Sam Hoyle revealed to AM co-host Ryan Bridge that Sunday's shooting in Pukekohe was between Black Power gang members and the community wasn't involved.
He said it was "disappointing" and officers "wasted dozens of hours there" and could've been doing more "productive work".
Hoyle was appointed to his newly created role late last year to oversee the Auckland Super City, promising to tackle ram-raids, increase the visibility of officers and get more resources for the stretched front line.
He told AM on Monday since he started in the role violent crime has been "steady".
"We have seen a slight increase in family harm and mental health cases, but that is still the biggest driver around demand, is what goes on in people's homes, what goes on and people's relationships," Hoyle said.
"Mental health in the community is the biggest piece of our work for our frontline. We've seen the likes of ram-raids trending back since the middle of last year, that's before I got here. They're still too high, I mean, I don't think there is ever an acceptable amount of ram raids."
Hoyle said despite the spike in retail crime and the offending over the weekend he believes Auckland is still a "safe city".
"I think Auckland is still a safe city. By any international standard, Auckland is a large city and is a safe city. There is still work ons, we still have challenges as a community," Hoyle said.
"People's feelings of safety are as important as actually being safe. If people feel safe, they're out more, and they spend. Feelings of safety are important and that's why it's important how we talk about crime and why we keep the messages around safety in perspective."
Hoyle said while retail crime is too high, he added it's good people are reporting it as previously it wasn't.
"If you go back a couple of years, to report a crime as a shopkeeper, you had to ring the police, the patrol had to arrive or you got sent down to the local police station to report at the front counter," he said.
"Now, they're reporting it online from their shops. We're seeing a lot more reported for a lower level of retail crime."
Watch the full interview with Sam Hoyle in the video above.
