AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Violence in major New Zealand city Auckland's central area surged in the past one and a half years, seeing record high of 232 assaults in May 2021, according to the figure released by New Zealand Police.

More than 1,000 people have been assaulted in Auckland's central business district (CBD) so far this year, many of whom have been randomly punched by strangers.

The police figure also shows that violent assaults, firearms-linked crimes occurred throughout almost all Auckland suburbs from the north shore to Manukau in the south. It is recently reported that a series of gunshots happened in southern Auckland has left houses riddled with bullets, many people seriously injured.

More seriously, the violence was not only restricted to the public, police officers were also more commonly attacked by criminals.

Gary Davey, the Auckland Central Area Commander Inspector, told local media that at the moment around eight police officers were still with serious concussion-related injuries.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff believed that the violence upsurge in the city related to hundreds of deportees from Australia.

Hundreds of New Zealanders were deported from Australia since international borders closed during the last year. Many people being deported have no family ties or connections in New Zealand. Some of them are gang-related or committed crime. The deportee issue makes a social problem to the New Zealand society.

Davey believed that the increased violence also related to demographic change in Auckland's central area due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

He explained that when all international students and tourists disappeared from downtown Auckland, more gang-related people could live in CBD apartments with relatively affordable rental fee.

Increased violence scared the average people, although the property price in Auckland region hit record high recently. Enditem

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