NCJ Number
217519
Date Published
2006
Length
184 pages
Annotation
This report presents a comprehensive range of statistics on New Zealand’s criminal court proceedings and sentencing from 1996 to 2005.
Abstract
Report highlights include: (1) the number of charges prosecuted was consistent between 2004 and 2005 (288,388 and 287,602 respectively); (2) the proportion of all prosecutions resulting in a conviction decreased slightly from 1996 to 2005; (3) the total number of convictions recorded at 187,641 in 2005 was relatively consistent compared with 187,333 recorded in 2004; (4) the number of convictions for violent offenses showed a downward trend between 1996 and 2002; (5) male offenders accounted for 82 percent of all cases resulting in a conviction in 2005; (6) significant changes in sentencing outcomes were seen from June 2002 with the Sentencing Act of 2002; (7) throughout the decade (1996-2005) 7 to 10 percent of people convicted each year received a custodial (prison) sentence; (8) the average custodial sentence length imposed for all offenses in 2005 was the same as 2004, 14.4 months; (9) half of the convictions that resulted in imprisonment in 2005 involved property offenses or traffic offenses; (10) the total number of 14 to 16 year olds apprehended was stable over the decade at around 31,000 apprehensions each year; and (11) the overall youth apprehension rate in 2005 was the lowest recorded in the last decade, at 1,636 apprehensions per 10,000 population of 14 to 16 year olds. Using data derived from the previous Law Enforcement System and the current Case Management System, this report provides data on trends in prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing for New Zealand over a 10-year period, 1996-2005. Figures, tables and references