When I left the UK to go to New Zealand at the end of August the press here was full of stories about young men being killed in stabbings, worries about increasing violence related to gang culture, deaths on the road for young drivers,drug related crime and drink related offences( the UK press really love a good heartwarming uplifting story).

I always read the local papers when I am travelling and the New Zealand press were covering stories about – yes you guessed – those same issues.

So many people here in the UK who talk about emmigrating to NZ say it is because they feel that their children will be safer there. There is of course the perception that they are not safe here.

A really telling report though was from the Christchurch police which said

“ …while 93 per cent of residents felt safe during the day, 58% felt unsafe or very unsafe after dark. That compared to 5% in Wellington and 16% in Auckland. ” Although the report said that Christchurch’s reputation is largely undeserved   the new police chief said that if the public perceive that it is unsafe then that is what he has to tackle.

Often the perception we have is based on press reporting and statistics show something different. Of course it could be said that statistics can be made to show anything …lies, damn lies etc

I was impressed though by the number of personal safety adverts run on NZ TV though. The one in particular that stuck in my mind was

“It’s not what we are drinking that’s the problem – it’s how we are drinking”

I found that very thought-provoking but then it is not really aimed at me.

On a lighter note as Scots we were warmly welcomed everywhere we went in NZ though that was not reflected in the battering Scotland took from the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup yesterday.Hopefully it will have been  worth it if Scotland can beat the Italians and make it to the next round!