Meth consumption still high, no evidence of related spike in crime

RNZ News

17 hours ago

Packets of methampetamine seized at Auckland Airport last month.
Photo:
Supplied / NZ police
The latest wastewater data for the first three months of this year shows methamphetamine consumption remains at significantly high levels.
Detective Superintendent Greg Williams said it was "gutting" and had concerns for the potential increase in crime and social harm.
But police data shows there is no evidence yet of a significant spike in crime following the
significant spike in methamphetamine use
.
It comes as the Ministerial Advisory Group on Organised Crime releases its most recent report, highlighting the need to
'remove the customers of drug crime'
.
Wastewater testing showed a 96 percent increase of consumption of methamphetamine in 2024, compared to 2023, which has been referred to as a "doubling" in meth use.
Fifteen kilograms of methamphetamine was consumed every week in the March 2019 quarter. In the December 2024 quarter, about 36kg was consumed on average each week.
The
latest data
from nationwide wastewater testing taken from January to March this year shows an average of 33 kg consumed per week.
Casey Costello, the Minister of Customs and Associate Minister of Police, who is in charge of the Ministerial Advisory Group on organised crime told RNZ in a statement it was good meth use was down, but it remained "far too high".
All districts continued to record above average use when compared to the respective consumption rates over the previous four quarters, the report said.
"Methamphetamine use across sample sites in Q1 2025 equates to an estimated weekly social harm cost of $34.6 million."
It was not clear yet whether more people started using, or whether the same people were using more.
"We'd expect a massive increase in the population use. It doesn't seem that that's the case," Williams said, and more testing was being done to understand what happened to cause the uptick last July.
Regardless, Williams said it was "gutting to see" meth use was still in the range of that top level, "honestly, seriously concerning."
Detective Superintendent Greg Williams.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
He could not say whether the increase in meth use had directly caused an increase in crime, but said "meth is a massive driver of crime, social harm and social deprivation in communities".
"So regardless of whether it's more people using or people using more it's still creating significantly more social harm and also seeing significantly more money going to the hands of gangs across the country, who are the ones selling this into the community."
Williams acknowledged the price of meth had dropped, but it was still relatively high compared to the rest of the world.
"You've still got to find the money to pay for that right?
"That's the concern."
Data from the National Drugs in Wastewater Testing Programme / NZ Police.
Photo:
Supplied
To consider whether there had been a jump in crime related to a jump in meth use, RNZ looked at the
Recorded Crime Victims Statistics
, which shows how many times Police receive reports of crimes that have a victim - or "victimisations" such as assault, burglary, theft.
According to
Police data
from the RCVS, there was not a significant and continuous spike in crime that directly aligned with the spike in meth use which began in July 2024.
Over a period of two years, between the start of July 2023 and the end of June 2025, the nationwide trend was relatively steady in terms of the number of victimisations.
Here's a breakdown nationwide by month over those two years (up to the latest data available) which shows the number of victimisations after the spike in meth use stays relatively consistent with the period before the spike.
Nationwide victimisations:
- Data from Police RCVS
According to
wastewater data
, the police regions of Northland, Eastern, Waikato and Tāmaki Makaurau saw the highest methamphetamine consumption per capita.
Here's the breakdown of victimisations in those police districts by month for the past two years, where you can see a marginal increase in some cases, but a relatively consistent trend.
Victimisations by region:
- Data from Police RCVS
Asked whether he was seeing a correlation between the increase in meth use and an increase in crime, Detective Superintendent Williams said he did not have that data in front of him but referenced research which showed a cohort of meth users who had a conviction were committing five times more offending than a non-meth-using cohort.
Williams said it was hard to say what the long-term impacts would be and when they might start to be seen, but in the meantime, gangs were getting significantly more money as a result of the increased use.
"So, inherently, you have to see an impact out there in communities."
Data based on reported crime can sometimes hide what goes unreported, so a victimisation survey - which asked people about their experiences of crime - was typically considered the gold standard measurement.
However, New Zealand's version - the Crime and Victims Survey - is run annually, so that data was not available.
The group provides monthly reports to the minister with findings and recommendations regarding New Zealand's response to organised crime.
The
latest report
published this week, for June, was titled 'One Team Against Organised Crime', and specified the need for a sustained and concerted strategy and action at government and community levels to break long term, intergenerational cycles and address the symptoms and root causes of organised crime.
It specified a need for a national strategy with local implementation to fight TASC, as well as a focus on prevention, stating "we agree that building community resilience to organised crime" should be part of the strategy.
"This is consistent with the foundational objectives for national drug policies: problem limitation, demand reduction and supply control.
"These principles have informed the work recently undertaken by the meth sprint team commissioned by the Prime Minister."
Minister of Customs and Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello speaks about an organised crime programme that targets the causes of drug use in communities.
Photo:
RNZ / Ellen O'Dwyer
A section titled 'Removing the Customers of Drug Crime' outlined the current situation where Customs was seizing far more illicit drugs than ever before, while there had been a substantial increase in the consumption of methamphetamine.
It noted, even before the spike in meth and cocaine, there were real
pressures on addiction services
in New Zealand. For example, in 2023/24:
a. New Zealand spent around $235 million on specialist alcohol and other drug services
b. 44,850 people accessed AOD services
c. Wait times into specialist addiction services within 3 weeks were 75.8 percent.
The report raised the question of whether the costs of organised crime were paid for through "increased efforts to reduce demand or through enforcement, or through the longer-term costs of social harms, including, for example, the costs of imprisonment".
"We have heard from community leaders that it would be helpful to see drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal issue to enable addicts to access treatment."
Part of this could be increasing support for confidential drug testing services; encouraging police to refer people who use drugs to local treatment options; continuing support for community-based meth reduction programmes like Te Ara Oranga in Northland; and meeting other health needs like undiagnosed neurodiversity (such as ADHD) so illicit drugs were not being used to control those symptoms.
Key recommendations from the group to prevent drug crime included:
a. Reducing the stigma around being a drug user to encourage users to seek help
b. Investing in the availability of effective addiction treatment services to remove the customers of drug crime
c. Considering wider rollout of alternative treatment models and criminal justice pathways for users, such as Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts.
A response from the government's 'meth sprint team' to the increased meth use is expected in due course, and could be as soon as this month.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.