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Shirley East Safety Snapshot

Canterbury, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Shirley East safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Shirley East has a safety score of 7/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 7% of New Zealand suburbs, with 143.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #270 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Shirley East is 143.4 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #270 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in November 2025, December 2025, May 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
7 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
143.4
Regional rank #270 / 288 (Bottom 25%)
3-Month Trend
i
▼10.2%(improving)

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026
  • Theft 78.9%
    Theft accounts for 78.9 percent of incidents.
  • Burglary 12.2%
    Burglary accounts for 12.2 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 8.1%
    Assault accounts for 8.1 percent of incidents.
  • Sexual Offences 0.8%
    Sexual Offences accounts for 0.8 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Shirley East ›

Shirley East Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,592

Households

1,008

Median income

$87,627

Median rent

$415

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
351 (13.5%)
Age 15-64
1,542 (59.5%)
Age 65+
720 (27.8%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
2,046 (79.3%)
Born overseas
534 (20.7%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
2,214 · 76.8%
Māori
276 · 9.6%
Pacific
96 · 3.3%
Asian
258 · 8.9%
MELAA
24 · 0.8%
Other
15 · 0.5%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
2,133 · 100%
Not owned
831 · 39.2%
Other
123 · 5.8%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
639 (21.3%)
Two families
15 (0.5%)
Three+ families
3 (0.1%)
Other composition
2,343 (78.1%)

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

FAQ

  • Is Shirley East a safe suburb to live in?

    Shirley East has a safety score of 7/100, making it the #270 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 91% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Shirley East?

    The annual crime rate in Shirley East is 143.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Shirley East

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

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