Almost one in ten homicide victims are killed by their parent or a parent's live-in partner, according to a new police report that delves into the circumstances surrounding murder and manslaughter cases over eight years.

The Homicide Victims in New Zealand Police report analyses all cases over eight years according to gender, age, ethnicity, relationship of the victim to offender, where the crime took place, and if a weapon was used.

Maori are far more likely to be homicide victims, making up 31 per cent of all cases, the study reveals.

One in 10 homicides involved firearms and more than a third of all female victims were killed by their partner.

Overall, 65 percent of victims were male and this gender gap has widened since 2007 when it was 57 percent.

The Labour Party is seeking more money for community policing to combat the numbers.

Police spokesman Stuart Nash said often, if a child has been murdered, Child Youth and Family have known about the dysfunctional household, or when a woman has been killed, police have been called to the address before on domestic violence incidents.

Community policing "allows the police overtime to get a handle on what is exactly going on in these communities so that hopefully they can intervene before the undertaker needs to be called," Nash said.