Skip to main content

Story: Violent crime

Highlighting violence in New Zealand

Image
Man holding white cross with a photograph of a woman with a badly bruised face attached to it.

During a 2002 violent crime protest, Sensible Sentencing Trust activist Norm Withers displayed a graphic photo of his elderly mother Nan, who was badly beaten by an intruder in 1997. Crosses representing New Zealand’s victims of violent crime were laid on the steps of Parliament at the protest. Community activism over the number of violent deaths has intensified in recent years, with Withers a prominent spokesperson. Together with the Sensible Sentencing Trust, he has campaigned for harsher sentences for those who commit violent crimes, especially murder.

Using this item

Getty Images

Reference: 56088181

by Ross Land

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Greg Newbold, Violent crime – Trends in violent crime, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/26482/highlighting-violence-in-new-zealand (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Greg Newbold, published 22 March 2011, reviewed and revised 3 May 2024 with assistance from Greg Newbold.