Assaults, robberies and burglaries are on the rise in the South and the Police Association believes an ''under-investment'' in policing could be a factor.
Police were concerned by the crime increase but said there were ''many drivers''.
''These include drugs, population growth, changing demographics, and the socio-economic backgrounds of some areas,'' a police spokesman said.
Figures released yesterday by Statistics New Zealand revealed there were 2520 victims of burglary in the Southern district between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016. That was a 9.8% increase on the corresponding period in 2014-15.
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Victims of robbery increased by 8.6% while there was an 8.2% rise in the number of assault victims.
The figures also showed only 186 - 7.4% - of burglaries had resulted in court action, 27% of investigations had not yet been finalised and 64% were concluded without action being taken against an offender.
More than 50% of thefts and almost 20% of assault investigations did not result in action being taken against an offender.
While the number of victims of sexual assault had remained stable, with 351 victims compared with 348 in the 2014-15 year, only 39 resulted in court action.
Close to four in five sexual assault investigations during the 2015-16 year remained open and 9.4% were finalised without action being taken against an offender.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor said the increase in burglaries provided a ''very good litmus test'' of the level of criminal activity in the community.
''While it is pleasing to see that the focus is now on burglaries across the political spectrum, including the recent policy announcement that police are attending all burglaries, the danger is that we do not recognise that burglaries are often a symptom of bigger problems, especially organised crime and drug problems,'' he said.
''The prevalence of methamphetamine, both in the number of seizures and as a factor in crime, shows the need to attack crime across all dimensions,'' Mr O'Connor said.
''What is clear is that the public are now becoming concerned that the crime situation is deteriorating, an inevitability after many years of under-investment.''
Police previously referred to the percentage of crimes resolved - either through court action, diversion, warnings or closure of the file - as resolution rates. The terminology has now been changed to clearance rates, which were not released in yesterday's data.
The police spokesman said clearance rates for burglary in the Southern district were higher than the national average in the past 12 months.
''Police have also formally lifted the priority level of dwelling burglary in our systems from a volume crime to a priority offence,'' he said.
''Prioritising means every file gets more attention and sends a clear signal that police are committed to preventing burglaries and bringing offenders to account.''
The spokesman said it was difficult to assess the reasons for the rise in violent offences. Family violence continued to be a driver and 41% of frontline police response time was spent on such incidents. Alcohol was also an issue.
