East Cape Safety Snapshot

Is East Cape safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. East Cape has a safety score of 21/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 21% of New Zealand suburbs, with 38.5 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #15 safest of 26 ranked suburbs in Gisborne.

The annual total crime rate in East Cape is 38.5 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #15 safest of 26 ranked suburbs in Gisborne Region. The overall crime trend in the area has remained the same in recent months with criminal activity peaking in April 2026, July 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 23.0%
  Burglary accounts for 23.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 20.0%
  Theft accounts for 20.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 12.0%
  Assault accounts for 12.0 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 1.0%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for East Cape ›

East Cape Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,506

Households

480

Median income

$55,788

Median rent

$154

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

384 (25.5%)

Age 15-64

849 (56.4%)

Age 65+

243 (16.1%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,434 (97%)

Born overseas

45 (3%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

348 · 19.4%

Māori

1,383 · 77.1%

Pacific

33 · 1.8%

Asian

18 · 1%

MELAA

6 · 0.3%

Other

6 · 0.3%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

936 · 100%

Not owned

534 · 57.1%

Other

183 · 19.6%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

255 (17.8%)

Two families

36 (2.5%)

Three+ families

3 (0.2%)

Other composition

1,137 (79.5%)

Demographic data sourced from Stats NZ , licensed under CC BY 4.0

FAQ

• Is East Cape a safe suburb to live in?

  East Cape has a safety score of 21/100, making it the #15 safest of 26 ranked suburbs in Gisborne Region. 77% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in East Cape?

  The annual crime rate in East Cape is 38.5 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz