5.1.3 Other public sector agencies
A number of other public sector agencies incurred crime-related costs in the 2003/04 year. We have derived cost estimates for the following agencies for inclusion in this study: the Ministry of Social Development (preventing and detecting benefit fraud, at-risk youth development activities); NZ Customs Service (detecting fraud, border security); the Inland Revenue Department (detecting fraud); the Ministry of Fisheries (detecting and resolving theft and fraud); and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (detecting and resolving biosecurity and animal welfare breaches).
There will also have been crime-related expenditure in other public sector agencies, such as the Ministry of Education (e.g. preventing damage to schools), the NZ Defence Force (e.g. sea patrols to deter illegal fishing, and seconding army personnel to help with murder investigations) and the NZ Fire Service (responding to deliberately-lit fires). However, no cost data for the crime-related expenditure of these other agencies have been included.
Also, one could argue that public spending on welfare, education and health is intended, amongst other things, to create healthy and educated citizens who can participate in and contribute productively to (legal) society, thereby indirectly reducing crime. No quantification of public sector interventions to reduce crime through general welfare, education and health services has been attempted.
Total health sector and other identified public sector (outside of the core justice sector) costs total an estimated $0.6 billion and are broken down in Table 5. Most of the identified public sector crime-related costs outside of the core justice sector are in the health sector and are incurred in response to violence against the person.
| 2003/04 $ million |
Health sector | Other public sector | Total | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offences against the person | 400 | 1 | 401 | 71% |
| – Violent offences | 358 | 1 | 360 | 64% |
| – Sexual offences | 34 | 0 | 34 | 6% |
| – Robbery | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1% |
| Offences against private property | 0 | 0 | 27% | |
| – Burglary | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| – Theft | 0 | 9 | 9 | 2% |
| – Property damage | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| – Fraud | 0 | 143 | 143 | 25% |
| Offences with no direct or intended victim | 3 | 3 | 2% | |
| – Drug offences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| – Serious traffic | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1% |
| – All other | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1% |
| Total | 403 | 161 | 564 | 100% |
