Rural Otago residents are being urged to take part in a national crime survey, to identify any issues plaguing the farming community.
Rural Women New Zealand launched the online survey this week in conjunction with police and the Crimestoppers service.
Rural Women New Zealand chief executive Noeline Holt said it was important as many rural residents as possible completed the survey, which maintained anonymity.
Respondents were asked to supply their postal code so independent analysts could identify problems in different areas throughout the country.
Ms Holt said there were no indications Otago had a worse or better rural crime rate than anywhere else, but in general rural residents might be victims of animal theft as well as of national crime problems such as domestic violence.
''The rural area is like a microcosm of the macrocosm - what we see in urban areas we see in the rural community as well, but it can be slightly different depending on things specific to rural lifestyles,'' she said.
Ultimately, Rural Women New Zealand aimed to make recommendations to police based on survey feedback, in the hope resources could be best utilised to remedy any problems.
It was the first time in a ''long, long time'' the national organisation had sought to collect such comprehensive crime data, Ms Holt said.
People had three weeks to complete the survey, which also sought opinions on police responsiveness and involvement in rural communities.
''Given the nature of small rural communities, we believe there are occasions when people are hesitant to contact the police, and for that reason we are promoting the work of Crimestoppers, where people are able to pass on information anonymously.''
The survey link is: se.buzzchannelgroup.com/default.aspx?u=e8755c4b98f44dadb30ca1c9534ed46b.
