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Violent crime

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A violent crime , violent felony , crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder , assault , rape and assassination , as well as crimes in which violence is used as a method of coercion or show of force , such as robbery , extortion and terrorism . Violent crimes may, or may not, be committed with weapons . Depending on the jurisdiction, violent crimes may be regarded with varying severities from homicide to harassment .

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153-788: Violent criminals who use hostile acts towards others include murderers , active shooters , robbers, kidnappers , rapists , burglars , muggers and torturers . Another category of violent criminals are pirates and hijackers of cars or aircraft . Criminal organizations , gangsters and drug cartels frequently employ violent criminals in their group, usually as enforcers or hitmen . Violent criminals often display characteristics such as low anger threshold, disinhibition /absence of impulsivity control , strong dominance / territorial instinct , antisocial personality , psychological / mental health issues and aggressive tendencies which enable them to carry out usually violent acts. The comparison of violent crime statistics between countries

306-557: A minority government can be formed if support from other parties during confidence and supply votes is assured. The governor-general appoints ministers under advice from the prime minister, who is by convention the parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition. Cabinet , formed by ministers and led by the prime minister, is the highest policy-making body in government and responsible for deciding significant government actions. Members of Cabinet make major decisions collectively and are therefore collectively responsible for

459-471: A protectionist and highly regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. Unemployment peaked just above 10% in 1991 and 1992, following the 1987 share market crash , but eventually fell to 3.7% in 2007 (ranking third from twenty-seven comparable OECD nations). However, the global financial crisis that followed had a major effect on New Zealand, with the GDP shrinking for five consecutive quarters,

612-417: A public wrong . According to common law, murder is considered to be malum in se , that is, an act which is evil within itself. An act such as murder is wrong or evil by its very nature, and it is the very nature of the act which does not require any specific detailing or definition in the law to consider murder a crime. Some jurisdictions still take a common law view of murder. In such jurisdictions, what

765-403: A condition that affected their judgment at the time. Depression , post-traumatic stress disorder and medication side-effects are examples of conditions that may be taken into account when assessing responsibility. Mental disorder may apply to a wide range of disorders including psychosis caused by schizophrenia and dementia , and excuse the person from the need to undergo the stress of

918-432: A conscious disregard of an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury. In Australian jurisdictions, the unreasonable risk must amount to a foreseen probability of death (or grievous bodily harm in most states), as opposed to possibility. Under state of mind (iv), the felony-murder doctrine, the felony committed must be an inherently dangerous felony, such as burglary, arson, rape, robbery or kidnapping. Importantly,

1071-564: A criminal action...." Murder with specified aggravating circumstances is often punished more harshly. Depending on the jurisdiction, such circumstances may include: In the United States and Canada, these murders are referred to as first-degree or aggravated murders. Under English criminal law , murder always carries a mandatory life sentence , but is not classified into degrees. Penalties for murder committed under aggravating circumstances are often higher under English law than

1224-474: A decrease of 22%. Violent crime in both the UCR and NCVS categories have a common variable: alcohol consumption. About 25% of American women have been victims of sexual assault while about 20% of American men have been the ones to commit this sexual assault and other violent behavior, which shows a clear gender gap. Women are disproportionately more likely to be victims of these categories in the United States. Alcohol

1377-413: A defendant to be convicted of intentionally murdering a person they did not know existed. Some countries allow conditions that "affect the balance of the mind" to be regarded as mitigating circumstances . This means that a person may be found guilty of "manslaughter" on the basis of "diminished responsibility" rather than being found guilty of murder, if it can be proved that the killer was suffering from

1530-420: A finding of intent to kill, such as "loss of control" or "diminished responsibility", may result in the reduction of a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter. The four states of mind recognised as constituting "malice" are: Under state of mind (i), intent to kill, the deadly weapon rule applies. Thus, if the defendant intentionally uses a deadly weapon or instrument against the victim, such use authorises

1683-506: A high level of innovation . Poverty in New Zealand is characterised by growing income inequality; wealth in New Zealand is highly concentrated , with the top 1% of the population owning 16% of the country's wealth, and the richest 5% owning 38%, leaving a stark contrast where half the population, including state beneficiaries and pensioners, receive less than $ 24,000. Moreover, child poverty in New Zealand has been identified by

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1836-524: A left-wing female opponent in the face during a live televised debate. He was subsequently wanted by Greek prosecutors for assault and faced an arrest warrant. France does not count minor violence like slapping somebody as assault. The United Kingdom includes all violence against the person including sexual offences , as violent crime. Today, violent crimes are considered the most heinous whereas historically, according to Simon Dedo, crimes against property were equally important. Rates of violent crime in

1989-785: A party must win at least one electorate or 5% of the total party vote before it is eligible for a seat. Elections since the 1930s have been dominated by two political parties , National and Labour . More parties have been represented in Parliament since the introduction of MMP. New Zealand's judiciary , headed by the chief justice , includes the Supreme Court , Court of Appeal , the High Court , and subordinate courts. Judges and judicial officers are appointed non-politically and under strict rules regarding tenure to help maintain judicial independence . This theoretically allows

2142-407: A permissive inference of intent to kill. Examples of deadly weapons and instruments include but are not limited to guns, knives, deadly toxins or chemicals or gases and even vehicles when intentionally used to harm one or more victims. Under state of mind (iii), an "abandoned and malignant heart", the killing must result from the defendant's conduct involving a reckless indifference to human life and

2295-742: A person, murder; mortal sin, crime; punishment, torment, misery"; and *murþrijô "murderer; homicide" (from the verb *murþrijaną "to murder"), giving Old English myrþra "homicide, murder; murderer". There was a third word for "murder" in Proto-Germanic, continuing Proto-Indo-European *mr̥tós "dead" (compare Latin mors ), giving Proto-Germanic *murþą "death, killing, murder" and Old English morþ "death, crime, murder" (compare German Mord ). The -d- first attested in Middle English mordre, mourdre, murder, murdre could have been influenced by Old French murdre , itself derived from

2448-412: A person, of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully kills any reasonable creature in being and under the king's peace, with malice aforethought, either express or implied. At common law, murder was normally punishable by death. The elements of common law murder are: In contrast with manslaughter , murder requires the mental element known as malice aforethought. Mitigating factors that weigh against

2601-531: A separate category from violence. Violent crime is not specifically defined New Zealand legislation, with the Crimes Act 1961 instead having separate legislation that deal with "Crimes against morality and decency, sexual crimes, crimes against public welfare" and "Crimes against the person". In 2015, New Zealand Police changed the way it counted crime from counting recorded offences, to counting people victimised or those found to be offending. The rationale behind

2754-400: A series of conflicts between the colonial government and Māori tribes resulted in the alienation and confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. New Zealand became a dominion in 1907; it gained full statutory independence in 1947, retaining the monarch as head of state . Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 5.25 million is of European descent ; the indigenous Māori are

2907-437: A slight increase. Per 100,000 people living in the United States, 156 arrests were made that related to violent crime in some capacity. More specifically, for every 100,000 people, 3 arrests were made for murder, 7 for rape, 24 for robbery, and assault was the most common with 120 arrests made for every 100,000 people. Bureau of Justice Statistics and NCVS In 2019, The NCVS data collected consisted of 155,076 households across

3060-576: A trade which provided the basis for strong economic growth in New Zealand. High demand for agricultural products from the United Kingdom and the United States helped New Zealanders achieve higher living standards than both Australia and Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973, New Zealand's export market was reduced when the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community and other compounding factors, such as

3213-447: A trial as to liability. Usually, sociopathy and other personality disorders are not legally considered insanity. In some jurisdictions, following the pre-trial hearing to determine the extent of the disorder, the defense of "not guilty by reason of insanity" may be used to get a not guilty verdict. This defense has two elements: Under New York law, for example: § 40.15 Mental disease or defect. In any prosecution for an offense, it

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3366-408: A victim of violent crime in the 12 preceding months. Regarding murder, "increasing levels of homicide (at around 2% to 3% per year) [have been observed] from the 1960s through to the end of the twentieth century". Recently the murder rate has declined, "a fall of 19 percent in homicides since 2001/02", as measured by The Homicide Index. The U.S. federal government's definition of a "crime of violence"

3519-490: A yearly average of more than 2,000 hours of sunshine. The southern and southwestern parts of the South Island have a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,400–1,600 hours; the northern and northeastern parts of the South Island are the sunniest areas of the country and receive about 2,400–2,500 hours. The general snow season is early June until early October, though cold snaps can occur outside this season. Snowfall

3672-617: Is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy , although its constitution is not codified . Charles III is the King of New Zealand and thus the head of state . The king is represented by the governor-general , whom he appoints on the advice of the prime minister . The governor-general can exercise the Crown 's prerogative powers , such as reviewing cases of injustice and making appointments of ministers , ambassadors, and other key public officials, and in rare situations,

3825-496: Is a direct correlation between poverty and increased violence in deprived areas of the United States. People living in poverty are more likely to turn to violent crime as a means to provide for their family if they feel that the legal means of doing so are insufficient. Poverty can promote a Darwinian "survival of the fittest" approach where personal prosperity is prioritised over the lives of others, leading to an increased tolerance for committing violent crime. Murderer This

3978-535: Is a gender gap that is notable when it comes to Intimate Partner Violence. Men are more likely to be guilty of general violence while women are more likely to be guilty of IPV. Lack of self-control in men has a direct correlation on whether they are guilty of IPV or not, while anger is more correlated to women on whether they engage in this type of behavior or not. Household Crimes that often lead to violent crime include burglary and attempted burglary. Rates for household crimes were higher than personal crimes and this rate

4131-743: Is a member of the United Nations , the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and participates in the Five Power Defence Arrangements . Today, New Zealand enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies , as well as with Australia , with a " Trans-Tasman " identity between citizens of

4284-480: Is also consistent with a much debated questionable third line of oral evidence, traditional genealogies ( whakapapa ) which point to around 1350 as a probable arrival date for many of the founding canoes ( waka ) from which many Māori trace their descent. Some Māori later migrated to the Chatham Islands where they developed their distinct Moriori culture. A later 1835 invasion by Māori resulted in

4437-626: Is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean . It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island ( Te Ika-a-Māui ) and the South Island ( Te Waipounamu )—and over 700 smaller islands . It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga . The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including

4590-457: Is an accepted version of this page Note: Varies by jurisdiction Note: Varies by jurisdiction Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction . This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide , such as manslaughter . Manslaughter

4743-408: Is an affirmative defence that when the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct, he lacked criminal responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect. Such lack of criminal responsibility means that at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate either: 1. The nature and consequences of such conduct; or 2. That such conduct

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4896-621: Is calculated based on every 100 people per 100 households. Australia (as well as New Zealand) classifies crime according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification (ANZSOC). Originally released in 1997 as the Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC), it was revised in 2008 and renamed in 2011 to reflect the international use of the standard in both countries and follows an agreed policy to harmonise classifications between

5049-582: Is classified as a non-self-governing territory , but is administered by a council of three elders (one from each Tokelauan atoll ). The Ross Dependency is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica , where it operates the Scott Base research facility. New Zealand nationality law treats all parts of the realm equally, so most people born in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and

5202-869: Is common in the eastern and southern parts of the South Island and mountain areas across the country. New Zealand's geographic isolation for 80 million years and island biogeography has influenced evolution of the country's species of animals , fungi and plants . Physical isolation has caused biological isolation, resulting in a dynamic evolutionary ecology with examples of distinctive plants and animals as well as populations of widespread species. The flora and fauna of New Zealand were originally thought to have originated from New Zealand's fragmentation off from Gondwana, however more recent evidence postulates species resulted from dispersal. About 82% of New Zealand's indigenous vascular plants are endemic , covering 1,944 species across 65 genera . The number of fungi recorded from New Zealand, including lichen-forming species,

5355-492: Is considered to be murder is defined by precedent case law or previous decisions of the courts of law. However, although the common law is by nature flexible and adaptable, in the interests both of certainty and of securing convictions, most common law jurisdictions have codified their criminal law and now have statutory definitions of murder. Although laws vary by country, there are circumstances of exclusion that are common in many legal systems. All jurisdictions require that

5508-466: Is equivalent to 15% of the population of New Zealand. New Zealand has a strong presence among the Pacific Island countries, and enjoys strong diplomatic relations with Samoa , Fiji , and Tonga , and among smaller nations. A large proportion of New Zealand's aid goes to these countries, and many Pacific people migrate to New Zealand for employment. The increase of this since the 1960s led to

5661-459: Is exercised by the Government , led by the prime minister , currently Christopher Luxon . Charles III is the country's king and is represented by the governor-general , Cindy Kiro . In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes. The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory );

5814-440: Is heavily dependent on international trade, particularly in agricultural products. Exports account for 24% of its output, making New Zealand vulnerable to international commodity prices and global economic slowdowns . Food products made up 55% of the value of all the country's exports in 2014; wood was the second largest earner (7%). New Zealand's main trading partners, as at June 2018 , are China ( NZ$ 27.8b), Australia ($ 26.2b),

5967-460: Is killing committed in the absence of malice , such as in the case of voluntary manslaughter brought about by reasonable provocation , or diminished capacity . Involuntary manslaughter , where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent , recklessness. Most societies consider murder to be an extremely serious crime, and thus believe that a person convicted of murder should receive harsh punishments for

6120-624: Is known to impair judgement which results in irrational decisions being made. The UCR rates for forcible rape are so low because women are unlikely to report being a victim of this violent behavior. In 2011, the UCR violent crime rate had dropped to 386.3 cases per 100,000 persons, compared to 729.6 per 100,000 in 1990. U.S. homicide data is also available in the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS). Socioeconomic Status and Crime Rates Socioeconomic status plays an influential role in levels of violent crime, there

6273-553: Is made up of two main islands and more than 700 smaller islands . The two main islands (the North Island , or Te Ika-a-Māui , and the South Island , or Te Waipounamu ) are separated by Cook Strait , 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point. Besides the North and South Islands, the five largest inhabited islands are Stewart Island (across the Foveaux Strait ), Chatham Island , Great Barrier Island (in

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6426-482: Is maintained; when differentiating between murder and manslaughter, the only relevant factor is the existence or not of premeditation (rather than the existence or not of mitigating or aggravated factors). Manslaughter (non-premeditated intentional killing) with aggravating factors is punished more severely, but it is not classified as murder, because murder is an offense which always requires premeditation. According to Blackstone, English common law identified murder as

6579-510: Is not defined in New Zealand Law, the first 6 divisions of the classification standard do define offences against the person. Austria , Czech Republic , Finland , Germany , England , Latvia , Netherlands , Portugal , Greece and Sweden count minor violence such as slapping another person as assault. An example is the case of Ilias Kasidiaris in 2012. Kasidaris, then spokesperson for Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party, slapped

6732-436: Is not known, nor is the proportion of those fungi which are endemic, but one estimate suggests there are about 2,300 species of lichen-forming fungi in New Zealand and 40% of these are endemic. The two main types of forest are those dominated by broadleaf trees with emergent podocarps , or by southern beech in cooler climates. The remaining vegetation types consist of grasslands, the majority of which are tussock . Before

6885-853: Is stated at Title 18 of the United States Code Chapter 1 § 16: The term “crime of violence” means— There are two main crime databases maintained by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ): the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report (UCR). Non-fatal violence is reported in the NCVS, which measures rape and sexual assault , robbery , and aggravated and simple assault reported by households surveyed by

7038-527: Is subdivided into first-degree murder or otherwise. The modern English word "murder" descends from the Proto-Indo-European *mŕ̥-trom which meant "killing", a noun derived from *mer- "to die". Proto-Germanic , in fact, had two nouns derived from this word, later merging into the modern English noun: *murþrą "death, killing, murder" (directly from Proto-Indo-European *mŕ̥-trom ), whence Old English morðor "secret or unlawful killing of

7191-458: Is that, whether or not some settlers arrived before 1314, the main settlement period was in the subsequent decades, possibly involving a coordinated mass migration. It is also the broad consensus of historians that the Polynesian settlement of New Zealand was planned and deliberate. Over the centuries that followed, the settlers developed a distinct culture now known as Māori. This scenario

7344-426: Is the crime of wrongfully and intentionally causing the death of another human being (also known as murder) after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension. State laws in the United States vary as to definitions of "premeditation". In some states, premeditation may be construed as taking place mere seconds before

7497-519: Is to regulate "the natural environment with particular emphasis on resource management ", while territorial authorities are responsible for sewage, water, local roads, building consents, and other local matters. Five of the territorial councils are unitary authorities and also act as regional councils. The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and the Chatham Islands Council. While officially

7650-636: Is usually problematic, due to the way different countries classify crime. Valid comparisons require that similar offences between jurisdictions be compared. Often this is not possible, because crime statistics aggregate equivalent offences in such different ways that make it difficult or impossible to obtain a valid comparison. Depending on the jurisdiction, violent crimes may include: homicide , murder , assault , manslaughter , sexual assault , rape , robbery , negligence , endangerment , kidnapping (abduction), extortion , and harassment . Different countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Europe, and

7803-635: The 1973 oil and 1979 energy crises, led to a severe economic depression . Living standards in New Zealand fell behind those of Australia and Western Europe, and by 1982 New Zealand had the lowest per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyed by the World Bank . In the mid-1980s New Zealand deregulated its agricultural sector by phasing out subsidies over a three-year period. Since 1984, successive governments engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring (known first as Rogernomics and then Ruthanasia ), rapidly transforming New Zealand from

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7956-872: The ANZAC tradition it shares with Australia. In addition to Vietnam and the two world wars, New Zealand fought in the Second Boer War , the Korean War , the Malayan Emergency , the Gulf War , and the Afghanistan War . It has contributed forces to several regional and global peacekeeping missions, such as those in Cyprus , Somalia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , the Sinai , Angola , Cambodia ,

8109-624: The Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency , which is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica . The first European visitor to New Zealand, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman , named the islands Staten Land , believing they were part of the Staten Landt that Jacob Le Maire had sighted off the southern end of South America. Hendrik Brouwer proved that

8262-685: The European Union ($ 22.9b), the United States ($ 17.6b), and Japan ($ 8.4b). On 7 April 2008, New Zealand and China signed the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement , the first such agreement China has signed with a developed country. In July 2023, New Zealand and the European Union entered into the EU–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement , which eliminated tariffs on several goods traded between

8415-583: The Ex Post Facto Clause of Article I of the United States Constitution . The potential effect of fully abolishing the rule can be seen in the case of 74-year-old William Barnes, charged with the murder of a Philadelphia police officer Walter T. Barclay Jr., who he had shot nearly 41 years previously. Barnes had served 16 years in prison for attempting to murder Barkley, but when the policeman died on August 19, 2007, this

8568-725: The Gondwanan supercontinent. About 25 million years ago, a shift in plate tectonic movements began to contort and crumple the region. This is now most evident in the Southern Alps, formed by compression of the crust beside the Alpine Fault . Elsewhere, the plate boundary involves the subduction of one plate under the other, producing the Puysegur Trench to the south, the Hikurangi Trough east of

8721-621: The Great Depression . The depression led to the election of the first Labour Government and the establishment of a comprehensive welfare state and a protectionist economy. New Zealand experienced increasing prosperity following the Second World War, and Māori began to leave their traditional rural life and move to the cities in search of work. A Māori protest movement developed, which criticised Eurocentrism and worked for greater recognition of Māori culture and of

8874-628: The Hauraki Gulf ), D'Urville Island (in the Marlborough Sounds ) and Waiheke Island (about 22 km (14 mi) from central Auckland). New Zealand is long and narrow—over 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) along its north-north-east axis with a maximum width of 400 kilometres (250 mi) —with about 15,000 km (9,300 mi) of coastline and a total land area of 268,000 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). Because of its far-flung outlying islands and long coastline,

9027-581: The Iran–Iraq border, Bougainville , East Timor , and the Solomon Islands . New Zealand has an advanced market economy , ranked 13th in the 2021 Human Development Index , and fourth in the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom . It is a high-income economy with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of US$ 36,254. The currency is the New Zealand dollar , informally known as

9180-584: The Legislative Council , until this was abolished in 1950. The supremacy of parliament over the Crown and other government institutions was established in England by the Bill of Rights 1689 and has been ratified as law in New Zealand. The House of Representatives is democratically elected, and a government is formed from the party or coalition with the majority of seats. If no majority is formed,

9333-611: The Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum . It enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies ; the United Kingdom; Samoa , Fiji , and Tonga ; and with Australia , with a shared Trans-Tasman identity between the two countries stemming from centuries of British colonisation. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament , while executive political power

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9486-546: The Southern Alps , owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington , and its most populous city is Auckland . The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and subsequently developed a distinctive Māori culture . In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became

9639-691: The Statute of Westminster , confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for the country without its consent. The British government's residual legislative powers were later removed by the Constitution Act 1986 , and final rights of appeal to British courts were abolished in 2003. Early in the 20th century , New Zealand was involved in world affairs, fighting in the First and Second World Wars and suffering through

9792-552: The Supreme Court of California in 1994 as not requiring any proof of the viability of the fetus as a prerequisite to a murder conviction. This holding has two implications. Firstly, a defendant in California can be convicted of murder for killing a fetus which the mother herself could have terminated without committing a crime. And secondly, as stated by Justice Stanley Mosk in his dissent, because women carrying nonviable fetuses may not be visibly pregnant, it may be possible for

9945-447: The U.S. Census Bureau . The UCR tracks similar non-fatal violence, plus murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded by law enforcement. There are significant methodological and definitional differences between the NCVS and UCR: The NCVS excludes crimes against children under 12 years, persons in institutions, and, possibly, highly mobile populations and the homeless; however, victimizations against these persons may be included in

10098-723: The United Kingdom and negotiate a treaty with the Māori. The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in the Bay of Islands on 6 February 1840. In response to the New Zealand Company's attempts to establish an independent settlement in Wellington , Hobson declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840, even though copies of the treaty were still circulating throughout the country for Māori to sign. With

10251-548: The United States Department of State noted that the New Zealand government generally respected the rights of individuals, but voiced concerns regarding the social status of the Māori population. In terms of structural discrimination , the New Zealand Human Rights Commission has asserted that there is strong, consistent evidence that it is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue. One example of structural inequality in New Zealand can be seen in

10404-641: The West Coast of the South Island to semi-arid in Central Otago and the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury and subtropical in Northland . Of the seven largest cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving on average only 618 millimetres (24.3 in) of rain per year and Wellington the wettest, receiving almost twice that amount. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all receive

10557-478: The caldera of one of the world's most active supervolcanoes . New Zealand is prone to earthquakes . The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates . New Zealand is part of Zealandia , a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from

10710-474: The criminal code classifies murder as either first- or second-degree. The former type of murder is often called premeditated murder, although premeditation is not the only way murder can be classified as first-degree. In the Netherlands , the traditional strict distinction between premeditated intentional killing (classed as murder, moord ) and non-premeditated intentional killing (manslaughter, doodslag )

10863-481: The reserve powers (e.g. the power to dissolve Parliament or refuse the royal assent of a bill into law). The powers of the monarch and the governor-general are limited by constitutional constraints, and they cannot normally be exercised without the advice of ministers. The New Zealand Parliament holds legislative power and consists of the king and the House of Representatives . It also included an upper house,

11016-554: The seven-continent model. New Zealand's climate is predominantly temperate maritime ( Köppen : Cfb), with mean annual temperatures ranging from 10 °C (50 °F) in the south to 16 °C (61 °F) in the north. Historical maxima and minima are 42.4 °C (108.32 °F) in Rangiora , Canterbury and −25.6 °C (−14.08 °F) in Ranfurly , Otago . Conditions vary sharply across regions from extremely wet on

11169-565: The "Kiwi dollar"; it also circulates in the Cook Islands (see Cook Islands dollar ), Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands . Historically, extractive industries have contributed strongly to New Zealand's economy, focusing at different times on sealing, whaling, flax , gold, kauri gum , and native timber. The first shipment of refrigerated meat on the Dunedin in 1882 led to the establishment of meat and dairy exports to Britain,

11322-428: The 15-year minimum non-parole period that otherwise serves as a starting point for a murder committed by an adult. A legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions broadens the crime of murder: when an offender kills in the commission of a dangerous crime, (regardless of intent), he or she is guilty of murder. The felony murder rule is often justified by its supporters as a means of preventing dangerous felonies, but

11475-437: The 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sector dominates the national economy , followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture ; international tourism is also a significant source of revenue. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations , Commonwealth of Nations , ANZUS , UKUSA , Five Eyes , OECD , ASEAN Plus Six , Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ,

11628-983: The 2024 Global Peace Index , New Zealand is the 4th most peaceful country in the world. New Zealand's military services—the New Zealand Defence Force —comprise the New Zealand Army , the Royal New Zealand Air Force , and the Royal New Zealand Navy . New Zealand's national defence needs are modest since a direct attack is unlikely. However, its military has had a global presence . The country fought in both world wars, with notable campaigns in Gallipoli , Crete , El Alamein , and Cassino . The Gallipoli campaign played an important part in fostering New Zealand's national identity and strengthened

11781-772: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Statistics New Zealand. The standard has no single category for violent crime, but its first six divisions involve offences committed against the person: Canada conducts an annual measure of crime incidences called the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR). UCR "Violent Criminal Code " violations include: homicide, attempted murder, sexual assault, assault, robbery, criminal harassment, uttering threats, and other violent violations. Canada also collects information on crime victimization every five years via its General Social Survey on Victimisation (GSS). Among

11934-673: The Chatham Islands Council is not a unitary authority, it undertakes many functions of a regional council. The Realm of New Zealand, one of 15 Commonwealth realms , is the entire area over which the king or queen of New Zealand is sovereign and comprises New Zealand, Tokelau , the Ross Dependency , the Cook Islands , and Niue . The Cook Islands and Niue are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand. The New Zealand Parliament cannot pass legislation for these countries, but with their consent can act on behalf of them in foreign affairs and defence. Tokelau

12087-620: The Germanic noun via Frankish *murþra (compare Old High German murdreo, murdiro ), though the same sound development can be seen with burden (from burthen ). The alternative murther (attested up to the 19th century) springs directly from the Old English forms. Middle English mordre is a verb from Anglo-Saxon myrðrian from Proto-Germanic *murþrijaną , or, according to the Oxford English Dictionary , from

12240-483: The Government as a major societal issue; the country has 12.0% of children living in low-income households that had less than 50% of the median equivalised disposable household income as of June 2022 . Poverty has a disproportionately high effect in ethnic-minority households, with a quarter (23.3%) of Māori children and almost a third (28.6%) of Pacific Islander children living in poverty as of 2020 . New Zealand

12393-459: The MMP system, each person has two votes; one is for a candidate standing in the voter's electorate , and the other is for a party. Based on the 2018 census data, there are 72 electorates (which include seven Māori electorates in which only Māori can optionally vote), and the remaining 48 of the 120 seats are assigned so that representation in Parliament reflects the party vote, with the threshold that

12546-553: The Māori of later years. According to an early European synthesized interpretation of various Māori traditional accounts, around 750 CE the heroic explorer, Kupe , had discovered New Zealand and later, around 1350, one great fleet of settlers set out from Hawaiki in eastern Polynesia. However, from the late 20th century, this story has been increasingly relegated to the realm of legend and myth. An alternative view has emerged from fresh archaeological and scientific evidence, which correlates with doubts raised by historians everywhere as to

12699-771: The North Island and South Island had never been formalised, and names and alternative names were formalised in 2013. This set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui , and South Island or Te Waipounamu . For each island, either its English or Māori name can be used, or both can be used together. Similarly the Māori and English names for the whole country are sometimes used together ( Aotearoa New Zealand ); however, this has no official recognition. The first people to reach New Zealand were Polynesians in ocean going waka (canoes). Their arrival likely occurred in several waves, approximately between 1280 and 1350 CE. Those Polynesian settlers, isolated in New Zealand, became

12852-602: The North Island, and the Kermadec and Tonga Trenches further north. New Zealand, together with Australia, is part of a wider region known as Australasia . It also forms the southwestern extremity of the geographic and ethnographic region called Polynesia . Oceania is a wider region encompassing the Australian continent , New Zealand, and various island countries in the Pacific Ocean that are not included in

13005-614: The North Island, saw thousands of imperial troops and the Royal Navy come to New Zealand and became known as the New Zealand Wars . Following these armed conflicts, large areas of Māori land were confiscated by the government to meet settler demands. The colony gained a representative government in 1852 , and the first Parliament met in 1854. In 1856 the colony effectively became self-governing, gaining responsibility over all domestic matters (except native policy, which

13158-630: The Ross Dependency are New Zealand citizens. During the period of the New Zealand colony, Britain was responsible for external trade and foreign relations. The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties , and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. On 3 September 1939, New Zealand allied itself with Britain and declared war on Germany with Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage proclaiming, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand". In 1951,

13311-674: The South American land was a small island in 1643, and Dutch cartographers subsequently renamed Tasman's discovery Nova Zeelandia from Latin , after the Dutch province of Zeeland . This name was later anglicised to New Zealand . This was written as Nu Tireni in the Māori language (spelled Nu Tirani in Te Tiriti o Waitangi). In 1834 a document written in Māori and entitled " He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni "

13464-476: The Tarawera eruption except for three of a decade or so earlier. Radiocarbon dating and pollen evidence of widespread forest fires shortly before the eruption might also indicate a pre-eruption human presence. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA variability within the Māori populations suggest that Eastern Polynesians first settled the New Zealand archipelago between 1250 and 1300, Therefore, current opinion

13617-470: The Treaty of Waitangi. In 1975, a Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty, and it was enabled to investigate historic grievances in 1985. The government has negotiated settlements of these grievances with many iwi, although Māori claims to the foreshore and seabed proved controversial in the 2000s. New Zealand is located near the centre of the water hemisphere and

13770-468: The U.S. further distinguish third-degree murder , but they differ significantly in which kinds of murders they classify as second-degree versus third-degree. For example, Minnesota defines third-degree murder as depraved-heart murder , whereas Florida defines third-degree murder as felony murder (except when the underlying felony is specifically listed in the definition of first-degree murder). Some jurisdictions also distinguish premeditated murder. This

13923-427: The UCR. Since they use different methodologies and measure overlapping, but not identical, crimes, the data are complementary and not necessarily congruent. UCR and FBI In 2019, The FBI's data reports that there were approximately 1,203,808 Violent Crimes that occurred in the United States. Compared to statistics from last year, robbery, rape, and burglary offenses saw a decrease in rates while assault and murder saw

14076-558: The UK are recorded by the British Crime Survey . Statistics from the 2010/2011 report on crime in England and Wales showed that violent crime continues a general downward trend observed over the last few decades. "The 2010/11 BCS showed overall violence was down 47 percent on the level seen at its peak in 1995; representing nearly two million fewer violent offences per year." In 2010/11, 31 people per 1,000 interviewed reported being

14229-521: The Uniform Penal Code, such as California, diminished capacity may be a defense. For example, Dan White used this defense to obtain a manslaughter conviction, instead of murder, in the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk . Afterward, California amended its penal code to provide "As a matter of public policy there shall be no defense of diminished capacity, diminished responsibility, or irresistible impulse in

14382-659: The United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests, while New Zealand joined Australia and the United States in the ANZUS security treaty. The influence of the United States on New Zealand weakened following protests over the Vietnam War , the refusal of the United States to admonish France after the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior , disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues, and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy . Despite

14535-409: The United States all have different systems of recording and reporting crimes. The International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS) is one way Australia analyzes crime. This way is done separately from formal police reporting and allows the citizens of Australia to express their experience of crime that otherwise would not have been reported to the police. It is similar to the NCVS which is a survey that

14688-706: The United States does to estimate non-reported crime. The two major categories of the ICVS are personal crime and household crime. The first annual national survey of crime victimization in Australia, the Crime Victimisation Survey, was conducted in 2008–09. Personal crimes included in the survey are: One type of sexual offense is Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Intimate Partner Violence often stems from other violent tendencies/ behavior such as anger, lack of self-control and/or mental instability. There

14841-467: The United States's suspension of ANZUS obligations, the treaty remained in effect between New Zealand and Australia, whose foreign policy has followed a similar historical trend. Close political contact is maintained between the two countries, with free trade agreements and travel arrangements that allow citizens to visit, live and work in both countries without restrictions. In 2013 there were about 650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia, which

14994-426: The United States, many jurisdictions have abolished the rule as well. Abolition of the rule has been accomplished by enactment of statutory criminal codes, which had the effect of displacing the common-law definitions of crimes and corresponding defenses. In 2001 the Supreme Court of the United States held that retroactive application of a state supreme court decision abolishing the year-and-a-day rule did not violate

15147-404: The United States. A notable statistic from this data collection is the rate of violent crime dropping 15% in 2019. Per 1,000 individuals interviewed, 7.3 people were said to be victims of a violent crime which is a decrease compared to 2018 (8.6 per every 1,000 people). Being a victim of a violent crime as it relates to race decreased as well. Black people saw a decrease of 29% while white people saw

15300-438: The arrival of humans, an estimated 80% of the land was covered in forest, with only high alpine , wet, infertile and volcanic areas without trees. Massive deforestation occurred after humans arrived, with around half the forest cover lost to fire after Polynesian settlement. Much of the remaining forest fell after European settlement, being logged or cleared to make room for pastoral farming, leaving forest occupying only 23% of

15453-404: The canoe of Aoraki ' ) for the South Island . Early European maps labelled the islands North (North Island), Middle (South Island), and South ( Stewart Island / Rakiura ). In 1830, mapmakers began to use "North" and "South" on their maps to distinguish the two largest islands, and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of

15606-440: The case of Ryan Holle shows it can be used very widely. The felony-murder reflects the versari in re illicita: the offender is objectively responsible for the event of the unintentional crime; in fact the figure of the civil law systems corresponding to felony murder is the preterintentional homicide (art. 222-7 French penal code, art. 584 Italian penal code, art. 227 German penal code etc.). Felony murder contrasts with

15759-422: The cause of death, breaking the chain of causation ; and also means that the responsible person does not have a charge of murder "hanging over their head indefinitely". Subject to any statute of limitations , the accused could still be charged with an offense reflecting the seriousness of the initial assault. With advances in modern medicine, most countries have abandoned a fixed time period and test causation on

15912-444: The change was that instead of just simply recording the offense, analyzing who exactly is the victim and who exactly is the offender can be more helpful in understanding the nature of the violent crime along with pointing out any trends/patterns. Historic recorded offence statistics from 1994 to 2014 are available from Statistics NZ, while more recent statistics are available from New Zealand Police via policedata.nz . While violent crime

16065-474: The consequences of these decisions. The 42nd and current prime minister, since 27 November 2023, is Christopher Luxon . A parliamentary general election must be called no later than three years after the previous election. Almost all general elections between 1853 and 1993 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system. Since the 1996 election , a form of proportional representation called mixed-member proportional (MMP) has been used. Under

16218-461: The country has extensive marine resources. Its exclusive economic zone is one of the largest in the world, covering more than 15 times its land area. The South Island is the largest landmass of New Zealand. It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps . There are 18 peaks over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), the highest of which is Aoraki / Mount Cook at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft). Fiordland 's steep mountains and deep fiords record

16371-502: The criminal justice system. According to the Ministry of Justice , Māori are overrepresented, comprising 45% of New Zealanders convicted of crimes and 53% of those imprisoned, while only being 16.5% of the population. The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces , which had a degree of autonomy. Because of financial pressures and the desire to consolidate railways, education, land sales, and other policies, government

16524-690: The early 19th century, Christian missionaries began to settle New Zealand, eventually converting most of the Māori population. The Māori population declined to around 40% of its pre-contact level during the 19th century; introduced diseases were the major factor. The British Government appointed James Busby as British Resident to New Zealand in 1832. His duties, given to him by Governor Bourke in Sydney, were to protect settlers and traders "of good standing", prevent "outrages" against Māori, and apprehend escaped convicts. In 1835, following an announcement of impending French settlement by Charles de Thierry ,

16677-492: The effect of giving birth to the child or by reason of the effect of lactation consequent upon the birth of the child". Since independence, death sentences for murder in such cases had always been commuted ; the new act was intended "to eliminate all the terrible ritual of the black cap and the solemn words of the judge pronouncing sentence of death in those cases ... where it is clear to the Court and to everybody, except perhaps

16830-422: The eight GSS crimes tracked are three violent crimes: sexual assault, robbery, and physical assault. Before the country adopted the Australian standard for classifying offences (ASOC) in 2010, New Zealand 's crime statistics had a category for violence that included homicides , kidnapping , abduction , robbery , assaults , intimidation , threats , and group assembly, while all sexual offences were shown in

16983-405: The extensive ice age glaciation of this southwestern corner of the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous but is marked by volcanism . The highly active Taupō Volcanic Zone has formed a large volcanic plateau , punctuated by the North Island's highest mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres (9,177 ft)). The plateau also hosts the country's largest lake, Lake Taupō , nestled in

17136-473: The facts of the case. This is known as "delayed death" and cases where this was applied or was attempted to be applied go back to at least 1966. In England and Wales, the "year-and-a-day rule" was abolished by the Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996 . However, if death occurs three years or more after the original attack then prosecution can take place only with the attorney-general 's approval. In

17289-649: The first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1769 the British explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to set foot on and map New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi which paved the way for Britain's declaration of sovereignty later that year and the establishment of the Crown Colony of New Zealand in 1841. Subsequently,

17442-491: The formation of the Pasifika New Zealander pan-ethnic group, the fourth-largest ethnic grouping in the country. Permanent migration is regulated under the 1970 Samoan Quota Scheme and the 2002 Pacific Access Category, which allow up to 1,100 Samoan nationals and up to 750 other Pacific Islanders respectively to become permanent New Zealand residents each year. A seasonal workers scheme for temporary migration

17595-580: The islands are uninhabited except for about six people at Raoul Island station. These islands put the northern border of New Zealand at 29 degrees South latitude. After the 1982 UNCLOS , the islands contributed significantly to New Zealand's exclusive economic zone . In 1891, the Liberal Party came to power as the first organised political party. The Liberal Government , led by Richard Seddon for most of its period in office, passed many important social and economic measures. In 1893, New Zealand

17748-436: The judiciary to interpret the law based solely on the legislation enacted by Parliament without other influences on their decisions. New Zealand is identified as one of the world's most stable and well-governed states. As of 2017, the country was ranked fourth in the strength of its democratic institutions, and first in government transparency and lack of corruption . LGBT rights in the nation are also recognised as among

17901-511: The land in 1997. The forests were dominated by birds , and the lack of mammalian predators led to some like the kiwi , kākāpō , weka and takahē evolving flightlessness . The arrival of humans, associated changes to habitat, and the introduction of rats , ferrets and other mammals led to the extinction of many bird species, including large birds like the moa and Haast's eagle . Other indigenous animals are represented by reptiles ( tuatara , skinks and geckos ), frogs , such as

18054-403: The largest minority, followed by Asians and Pasifika . Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening of culture arising from increased immigration to the country . The official languages are English, Māori , and New Zealand Sign Language , with the local dialect of English being dominant. A developed country , it

18207-641: The latter being common. New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement, known formally as the UKUSA Agreement . The five members of this agreement compromise the core Anglosphere : Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Since 2012, New Zealand has had a partnership arrangement with NATO under the Partnership Interoperability Initiative. According to

18360-637: The legal distinction between murder and manslaughter is clear, it is not unknown for a jury to find a murder defendant guilty of the lesser offense. The jury might sympathize with the defendant (e.g. in a crime of passion , or in the case of a bullied victim who kills their tormentor), and the jury may wish to protect the defendant from a sentence of life imprisonment or execution. Some jurisdictions divide murder by degrees. The distinction between first- and second-degree murder exists, for example, in Canadian murder law and U.S. murder law . Some US states maintain

18513-456: The long white cloud') is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole country before the arrival of Europeans; Aotearoa originally referred to just the North Island . Māori had several traditional names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui ( ' the fish of Māui ' ) for the North Island and Te Waipounamu ( ' the waters of greenstone ' ) or Te Waka o Aoraki ( '

18666-589: The longest recession in over thirty years, and unemployment rising back to 7% in late 2009. The lowest unemployment rate recorded using the current methodology was in December 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic , at 3.2%. Unemployment rates for different age groups follow similar trends but are consistently higher among youth. During the September 2021 quarter, the general unemployment rate was around 3.2%, while

18819-455: The massacre and virtual extinction of the Moriori. In a hostile 1642 encounter between Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri and Dutch explorer Abel Tasman 's crew, four of Tasman's crew members were killed, and at least one Māori was hit by canister shot . Europeans did not revisit New Zealand until 1769, when British explorer James Cook mapped almost the entire coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand

18972-485: The most tolerant in Oceania . New Zealand ranks highly for civic participation in the political process, with 82% voter turnout during recent general elections, compared to an OECD average of 69%. However, this is untrue for local council elections; a historically low 36% of eligible New Zealanders voted in the 2022 local elections , compared with an already low 42% turnout in 2019 . A 2017 human rights report by

19125-475: The murder. Premeditated murder is one of the most serious forms of homicide, and is punished more severely than manslaughter or other types of homicide, often with a life sentence without the possibility of parole , or in some countries, the death penalty . In the U.S., federal law ( 18 U.S.C.   § 1111(a) ) criminalizes premeditated murder, felony murder and second-degree murder committed under situations where federal jurisdiction applies. In Canada,

19278-719: The nebulous United Tribes of New Zealand sent a Declaration of Independence to King William IV of the United Kingdom asking for protection. Ongoing unrest, the proposed settlement of New Zealand by the New Zealand Company (which had already sent its first ship of surveyors to buy land from Māori) and the dubious legal standing of the Declaration of Independence prompted the Colonial Office to send Captain William Hobson to claim sovereignty for

19431-513: The noun. Opponents of abortion consider abortion a form of murder, treating the foetus as a person. In some countries, a fetus is a legal person who can be murdered, and killing a pregnant person is considered a double homicide. The eighteenth-century English jurist William Blackstone (citing Edward Coke ), in his Commentaries on the Laws of England set out the common law definition of murder, which by this definition occurs when

19584-475: The number of dairy cows doubling between 1990 and 2007, to become New Zealand's largest export earner. In the year to June 2018, dairy products accounted for 17.7% ($ 14.1 billion) of total exports, and the country's largest company, Fonterra , controls almost one-third of the international dairy trade. Other exports in 2017–18 were meat (8.8%), wood and wood products (6.2%), fruit (3.6%), machinery (2.2%) and wine (2.1%). New Zealand's wine industry has followed

19737-497: The offense of capital murder . The most common division is between first- and second-degree murder. Generally, second-degree murder is common law murder, and first-degree is an aggravated form. The aggravating factors of first-degree murder depend on the jurisdiction, but may include a specific intent to kill, premeditation, or deliberation. In some, murders committed by acts such as strangulation , poisoning , or lying in wait are also treated as first-degree murder. A few states in

19890-507: The pain of the victim). After the last reform of the Spanish Criminal Code , in force since July 1, 2015, another circumstance that turns homicide ( homicidio ) into assassination is the desire to facilitate the commission of another crime or to prevent it from being discovered. As with most legal terms, the precise definition of murder varies between jurisdictions and is usually codified in some form of legislation. Even when

20043-493: The penalty for mothers who kill their children of up to one year of age. The United States does not have such a law, but mentally ill mothers may plead not guilty by reason of insanity." In the law of the Republic of Ireland , infanticide was made a separate crime from murder in 1949, applicable for the mother of a baby under one year old where "the balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of her not having fully recovered from

20196-603: The principle of guilt, for which in England it was, at least formally, abolished in 1957, in Canada it was quashed by the Supreme Court, while in the USA it continues to survive. In some common law jurisdictions, a defendant accused of murder is not guilty if the victim survives for longer than one year and one day after the attack. This reflects the likelihood that if the victim dies, other factors will have contributed to

20349-442: The protected endangered Hamilton's Frog , spiders , insects ( wētā ), and snails. Some, such as the tuatara, are so unique that they have been called living fossils . Three species of bats ( one since extinct) were the only sign of native land mammals in New Zealand until the 2006 discovery of bones from a unique, mouse-sized land mammal at least 16 million years old. Marine mammals, however, are abundant, with almost half

20502-400: The purposes of retribution , deterrence , rehabilitation , or incapacitation . In most countries, a person convicted of murder generally receives a long-term prison sentence, a life sentence , or capital punishment . Some countries, states, and territories, including the United Kingdom and other countries with English-derived common law , mandate life imprisonment for murder, whether it

20655-575: The reliability of interpretations drawn from the oral evidence of indigenous peoples, including from Māori. Regarding the arrival of these Polynesian settlers, there are no human remains, artefacts or structures which are confidently dated to earlier than the Kaharoa Tephra, a layer of volcanic debris deposited by the Mount Tarawera eruption around 1314 CE. Samples of rat bone, rat-gnawed shells and seed cases have given dates later than

20808-594: The signing of the treaty and declaration of sovereignty, the number of immigrants, particularly from the United Kingdom, began to increase. New Zealand was administered as a dependency of the Colony of New South Wales until becoming a separate Crown colony , the Colony of New Zealand , on 3 May 1841. Armed conflict began between the colonial government and Māori in 1843 with the Wairau Affray over land and disagreements over sovereignty. These conflicts, mainly in

20961-467: The total workforce in 2016. In 2017, international visitor arrivals were expected to increase at a rate of 5.4% annually up to 2022. Wool was New Zealand's major agricultural export during the late 19th century. Even as late as the 1960s it made up over a third of all export revenues, but since then its price has steadily dropped relative to other commodities, and wool is no longer profitable for many farmers. In contrast, dairy farming increased, with

21114-486: The two regions. This free trade agreement expanded on the pre-existing free trade agreement and saw a reduction in tariffs on meat and dairy in response to feedback from the affected industries. The service sector is the largest sector in the economy, followed by manufacturing and construction and then farming and raw material extraction. Tourism plays a significant role in the economy, contributing $ 12.9 billion (or 5.6%) to New Zealand's total GDP and supporting 7.5% of

21267-447: The underlying felony cannot be a lesser included offense such as assault, otherwise all criminal homicides would be murder as all are felonies. In Spanish criminal law, asesinato (literally 'assassination'): takes place when any of these requirements concur: Treachery (the use of means to avoid risk for the aggressor or to ensure that the crime goes unpunished), price or reward (financial gain) or viciousness (deliberately increasing

21420-481: The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 was 9.2%. New Zealand has experienced a series of " brain drains " since the 1970s that still continue today. Nearly one-quarter of highly skilled workers live overseas, mostly in Australia and Britain, which is the largest proportion from any developed nation. In recent decades, however, a " brain gain " has brought in educated professionals from Europe and less developed countries. Today New Zealand's economy benefits from

21573-450: The unfortunate accused, that the sentence will never be carried out." In Russia, murder of a newborn child by the mother has been a separate crime since 1996. For a killing to be considered murder in nine out of fifty states in the US, there normally needs to be an element of intent. A defendant may argue that they took precautions not to kill, that the death could not have been anticipated, or

21726-400: The victim be a natural person; that is, a human being who was still alive before being murdered. In other words, under the law one cannot murder a corpse , a corporation, a non-human animal, or any other non-human organism such as a plant or bacterium. California 's murder statute, penal code section 187 , expressly mentioned a fetus as being capable of being killed, and was interpreted by

21879-847: The world's cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises ) and large numbers of fur seals reported in New Zealand waters. Many seabirds breed in New Zealand, a third of them unique to the country. More penguin species are found in New Zealand than in any other country, with 13 of the world's 18 penguin species. Since human arrival, almost half of the country's vertebrate species have become extinct, including at least fifty-one birds, three frogs, three lizards, one freshwater fish, and one bat. Others are endangered or have had their range severely reduced. However, New Zealand conservationists have pioneered several methods to help threatened wildlife recover, including island sanctuaries, pest control, wildlife translocation, fostering, and ecological restoration of islands and other protected areas . New Zealand

22032-441: Was alleged to be from complications of the wounds suffered from the shooting – and Barnes was charged with his murder. He was acquitted on May 24, 2010. According to Peter Morrall, the motivations for murder fit into the following 4 categories: Morall takes a biological view of offending when he insists the risk factors that may increase the chance that somebody will commit a murder include: New Zealand New Zealand

22185-569: Was centralised and the provinces were abolished in 1876. The provinces are remembered in regional public holidays and sporting rivalries. Since 1876, various councils have administered local areas under legislation determined by the central government. In 1989, the government reorganised local government into the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities . The 249 municipalities that existed in 1975 have now been consolidated into 67 territorial authorities and 11 regional councils. The regional councils' role

22338-472: Was granted in the mid-1860s). Following concerns that the South Island might form a separate colony, premier Alfred Domett moved a resolution to transfer the capital from Auckland to a locality near Cook Strait . Wellington was chosen for its central location, with Parliament officially sitting there for the first time in 1865. In 1886, New Zealand annexed the volcanic Kermadec Islands , about 1,000 km (620 mi) northeast of Auckland. Since 1937,

22491-615: Was introduced in 2007, and in 2009 about 8,000 Pacific Islanders were employed under it. New Zealand is involved in the Pacific Islands Forum , the Pacific Community , Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation , and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (including the East Asia Summit ). New Zealand has been described as a middle power in the Asia-Pacific region, and an emerging power . The country

22644-584: Was the first nation in the world to grant all women the right to vote and pioneered the adoption of compulsory arbitration between employers and unions in 1894. The Liberals also guaranteed a minimum wage in 1894, a world first. In 1907, at the request of the New Zealand Parliament, King Edward VII proclaimed New Zealand a Dominion within the British Empire , reflecting its self-governing status. In 1947, New Zealand adopted

22797-429: Was the first to introduce a minimum wage , and the first to give women the right to vote . It ranks very highly in international measures of quality of life , human rights , and it has one of the lowest levels of perceived corruption in the world. It retains visible levels of inequality , having structural disparities between its Māori and European populations. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during

22950-844: Was translated into English and became the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand . It was prepared by Te W(h)akaminenga o Nga Rangatiratanga o Nga Hapu o Nu Tireni , the United Tribes of New Zealand , and a copy was sent to King William IV who had already acknowledged the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and who recognised the declaration in a letter from Lord Glenelg . Aotearoa (pronounced [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa] in Māori and / ˌ aʊ t ɛəˈr oʊ . ə / in English; often translated as 'land of

23103-444: Was unavoidable. As a general rule, manslaughter constitutes reckless killing, but manslaughter also includes criminally negligent (i.e. grossly negligent) homicide. Unintentional killing that results from an involuntary action generally cannot constitute murder. After examining the evidence, a judge or jury (depending on the jurisdiction) would determine whether the killing was intentional or unintentional. In jurisdictions using

23256-528: Was visited by numerous European and North American whaling , sealing , and trading ships. They traded European food, metal tools, weapons, and other goods for timber, Māori food, artefacts, and water. The introduction of the potato and the musket transformed Māori agriculture and warfare. Potatoes provided a reliable food surplus, which enabled longer and more sustained military campaigns. The resulting intertribal Musket Wars encompassed over 600 battles between 1801 and 1840, killing 30,000–40,000 Māori. From

23409-568: Was wrong. Under the French Penal Code : Article 122-1 Those who successfully argue a defense based on a mental disorder are usually referred to mandatory clinical treatment until they are certified safe to be released back into the community, rather than prison. Postpartum depression (also known as post-natal depression) is recognized in some countries as a mitigating factor in cases of infanticide . According to Susan Friedman, "Two dozen nations have infanticide laws that decrease

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