New Zealand is often marketed to migrants as being somewhere with a low incidence of crime, a great lifestyle,and above all – safer than where they live now.

Nothing could be further from the truth, today we learn that a young woman was stabbed as she jogged along Tahunanui Beach, the main beach in the city of Nelson.

Later news reports identified her as an Irish tourist, which is going to result in a massive PR exercise to lessen the impact of the crime now that it’s likely to gain international attention.

We fully expect that when she’s recovered she’ll be pressured into giving the now obligatory “NZ is a wonderful country, this didn’t spoil my enjoyment of it” statement.

According to the New Zealand Her assault wasn’t one of the many that have been perpetrated deliberately against female joggers in New Zealand, some of which have resulted in murder or rape. The most recent of which was the assault of a female runner near to Auckland Zoo, Western Springs 3 days ago.

No, she just ‘happened‘ to get caught-up in a knife fight between two males who were unknown to her. Doesn’t look like a tourist assault at all…does it? This could so easily have been another Karen Aim case, we’re glad that it wasn’t.

But then again, Nelson does have a violent crime problem and members of the public do get caught up in them. You can’t blame tourists for not knowing how unsafe New Zealand can be, look at the advertising blurb they’re presented with:

This is the New Zealand Herald’s original report:

“A woman was allegedly stabbed in the leg while she was out running on a beach in Nelson. The incident happened near Tahunanui Beach in Nelson about 9pm yesterday. Police said two men were reported to have become involved in an altercation. A woman running in the area – who was not known to either of the men – was approached by one of the men and allegedly stabbed in the leg with a large knife.

She received hospital treatment and was been left very traumatised by the incident…” NZHerald

It was the Nelson Mail who first made public the woman’s nationality and tourist status

A female Irish tourist has been stabbed in the leg with a large knife while jogging, police say. Two men were seen fighting about 9pm on Friday night near Tahunanui Beach in Nelson, they said. Senior sergeant Blair Hall said the woman, 28, of Ireland, who did not know either of the men, received hospital treatment and had been left traumatised. St John described the injury to the woman’s left thigh as moderate.

Police had since arrested and charged a 25-year-old Nelson man in relation to the incident. Hall said the woman was near the playground at the beach when two men reportedly became involved in an altercation “and she’s been injured”. “Unfortunately, she was in the vicinity.” Nelson Mail

Emigrating or vacationing in Nelson, New Zealand for the safe lifestyle? You may like to think again and look for somewhere else.

Also in today’s news:

Kayla Walker-Ratahi slashed in the face for spilling wine at a Napier bar – Hawkes Bay Today

Kayla Walker-Ratahi, is still reeling after a savage wine glass attack that left her face scarred. The 19-year-old was enjoying a night out in the Thirsty Whale pub on December 3 with her friend when she was slashed across the face and chest with a wine glass. She’d been walking across the dance floor when she bumped into someone and the person’s drink spilt.

“I moved to the side but this person then smashed her wine glass on my face and chest.”… read on

‘Nelson Snippets’ Reveals Extent of Crime, Life in Small Town New Zealand

The owner of the Nelson Snippets Facebook page is using a scanner to listen in to police broadcasts to tell her community about crimes. She’s asking people to go to the police with information, helping to solve crimes  and making people proactive about their own security. You can find the page here Nelson Snippets 

It is also a vignette of small town life in Nelson, New Zealand. It shows how frequent crime is.

17 Dec 2016: Morning so this morning we woke up to find some miserable bugger has been stealing our christmas lights. We live in stoke round marsden road we noticed afew bits missing the other day but thought the kids had moved it now this morning they tried taking more only to find they were attached and have left. To be honest it seems like it could be YOUNG kids happening before 1am but after dark we would just like them back the kids dont need to be scared Thanks

16 December 2016:Trailer and freezer stolen – Parked on the side of Dawson Road Mapua. Trailer stolen with the freezer on the trailer between 4.30pm and 5pm – If you were driving down Dawson Road during this time and saw someone unhooking a trailer pls let me know!

13 December: Please post: petrol thieves are on the prowl, an orchardist had an attempted but failed attempt last night in Mahana Tasman. . Please let all rural farmers/orchardists/people aware to stop these buggers.

13 December: Theft from opel Quarantine road, got a clear shot off their cameras. Happened today.

Jan 9: Wow is there a full moon tonight. Aggro all over town. Toi toi, domestic, Parkers road attacking taxi drivers. WashBourne drive youths fighting on the street with rocks, fight on main road stoke. And that doesn’t count the guys in reef ton who rolled their car and ran away or the young men at the rugby grounds at Spring Creek “not doing nuthin” but one has got a bone sticking out of his leg. Youse are all drunk. GO HOME.

Nelson Snippets includes multiple pictures of stolen and burned-out cars (some of them stolen for spare parts) reports of break ins and thefts, road crashes, assaults etc.

Here’s some of the reports since the end of 2014. Unlike attacks on joggers, most of them don’t make it into news reports in case it makes people see their community in a negative light.

In an interview with the Nelson Mail the page’s owner says

“she’s solved the case of the white Toyota Altezza that was stolen from a petrol station on Monday night. She broke the news on Facebook an hour after it happened. “We know who did it,” she says. She loads up a photo of a guy and says, “Recognise the blue hoodie?”  It looks similar to the one the car thief was wearing when he was caught on CCTV camera. “He’s just got out of prison, too, for car conversion.” She’s sure the guy in the photo is the guy who stole the car and can’t understand why police haven’t arrested him (read the news report about the theft).

Her first post, on August 20, 2013, was about a burglar being caught on a roof.  The page expanded and she started sharing funny and peculiar incidents, like the guy who was escorted from a women’s clothing store by police after trying on dresses and making staff uncomfortable, or the “old guy” on a mobility scooter who was driving along the road on Whakatu Drive…subscribe to the page here

Sounds like the overstretched and underfunded police could do with all the help they can get.

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Other articles about Nelson

Man Charged with Murder After Female Jogger Found Dead in Upmarket Suburb of Remuera, Auckland

Dunedin Harbouring a Culture of Rape: Female Jogger Raped and Hog Tied

Jogger attacked at Western Springs in sexually motivated assault