By Geoff Adlam
Three-quarters of the prosecutions of adults in District and High Courts where there was an outcome resulted in convictions in 2019. One-fifth were “not proved” – which includes where a person was acquitted or discharged, or where the charge was dismissed or withdrawn.
This information comes from Statistics New Zealand’s annual statistics on criminal convictions and sentencing for the 2019 calendar year. The data is provided by the Ministry of Justice and the information for a centre includes both District Court and High Court where applicable.
The data shows some distinct variations in conviction rates when analysed by gender, age, ethnicity, sentencing court and the type of offence.
Of the 204,341 cases in District and High Courts where adults were prosecuted, 75% had an outcome resulting in a conviction. A further 4% of charges were “other proved” but not recorded as convictions – these included where Police offered diversion or the person was discharged without conviction under section 105 of the Sentencing Act 2002. Most of the rest – 20% – were “not proved”. A very small proportion of cases (“other”) resulted in a stay of proceeding, the person being found unfit to stand trial or acquitted on account of insanity.
Adult outcomes in New Zealand courts by calendar year
| Outcome | Total 2019 | % 2019 | Total 2018 | % 2018 |
| Convicted | 153,795 | 75.3% | 158,563 | 76.1% |
| Other proved | 8,018 | 3.9% | 7,807 | 3.7% |
| Not proved | 41,784 | 20.4% | 41,232 | 19.8% |
| Other | 744 | 0.4% | 754 | 0.4% |
| Total | 204,341 | 100.0% | 208,356 | 100.0% |
The data goes back an impressive 39 years to 1980. A general trend seems to have been a gradual fall then rise in the proportion of convictions, balanced by a rise then fall in “not proved”.
| Outcome | 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 |
| Convicted | 79% | 67% | 75% | 73% | 70% | 69% | 73% | 76% | 75% |
| Other proved | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 6% | 6% | 4% | 4% |
| Not proved | 14% | 27% | 23% | 26% | 29% | 25% | 21% | 19% | 20% |
| Other | 6% | 5% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
Convictions by type of offence
Obviously the type of offence has a bearing on likelihood of conviction. When outcomes are considered by offence category there is a wide variation overall.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, driving offences have the highest conviction rate – there are few shades of grey. Against the overall conviction rate of 75%, 91% of all traffic and vehicle regulatory offences resulted in conviction. The highest rate for any single offence was exceeding the prescribed content of alcohol or other substance limit in a vehicle – with 95% of prosecutions resulting in conviction.
The lowest conviction rates were for sexual assaults and related offences. A high 45% of these were not proved and 52% resulted in conviction. Fewer than half the prosecutions for the single offences of both non-aggravated and aggravated sexual assault resulted in conviction.
Homicide had one of the highest conviction rates in 2019 (at 74%), but in 2018 was one of the lowest, at 64% convicted and 29% not proved.
Outcomes for categories of adult offences prosecuted to a conclusion in 2019
| Category | Outcomes | Convicted | Other Proved | Not Proved |
| Most likely to be convicted | ||||
| Traffic & vehicle regulatory | 38,098 | 90.8% | 1.7% | 7.4% |
| Theft & related offences | 22,032 | 80.1% | 3.3% | 16.4% |
| Offences against justice, govt security | 44,330 | 78.2% | 1.2% | 20.5% |
| Dangerous or negligent acts | 11,563 | 77.9% | 10.6% | 11.4% |
| Homicide | 236 | 74.2% | 0.4% | 23.3% |
| Property damage, environmental pollution | 7,531 | 72.4% | 10.1% | 16.8% |
| Least likely to be convicted | ||||
| Sexual assault & related offences | 4,925 | 52.0% | 1.2% | 45.0% |
| Prohibited & regulated weapons, explosives | 5,455 | 62.9% | 3.0% | 33.5% |
| Acts intended to cause injury | 22,842 | 62.1% | 8.9% | 28.0% |
| Robbery, extortion | 1,138 | 62.6% | 0.6% | 35.7% |
| Abduction, harassment | 5,255 | 63.3% | 4.4% | 31.7% |
| Total Outcomes | 204,341 | 75.3% | 3.9% | 20.4% |
Outcomes for single adult offences prosecuted to a conclusion in 2019
| Category | Outcomes | Convicted | Other Proved | Not Proved |
| Most likely to be convicted | ||||
| Exceeding prescribed content of alcohol or other substance in vehicle | 17,293 | 94.9% | 1.3% | 3.8% |
| Driving licence offences | 15,945 | 88.6% | 2.2% | 9.2% |
| Illegal use of property (except motor vehicles) | 91 | 86.8% | 4.4% | 8.8% |
| Exceeding legal speed limit | 1,155 | 85.6% | 4.4% | 8.8% |
| Theft (except motor vehicles) | 14,199 | 85.2% | 3.4% | 11.2% |
| Least likely to be convicted | ||||
| Offences against government security | 10 | 30.0% | 0.0% | 50.0% |
| Abduction and kidnapping | 315 | 32.4% | 0.0% | 67.3% |
| Attempted murder | 18 | 44.4% | 0.0% | 44.4% |
| Blackmail and extortion | 143 | 45.5% | 0.7% | 53.1% |
| Non-aggravated sexual assault | 620 | 47.3% | 2.6% | 47.9% |
| Aggravated sexual assault | 3,421 | 47.4% | 0.3% | 50.0% |
Differences by court
Over the whole country in 2019 in individual courts there was a difference of over 25% between the proportion of cases which resulted in a conviction. In Waihi District Court during 2019, 87.5% of outcomes resulted in a conviction. In the Wellington District and High Courts, 63.2% of outcomes resulted in a conviction.
Proportion of outcomes resulting in a conviction, highest 2019
| Courts | Total outcomes | Convicted | % Convicted |
| Waihi | 817 | 715 | 87.5% |
| Marton | 337 | 294 | 87.2% |
| Te Kuiti | 585 | 508 | 86.8% |
| Opotiki | 739 | 631 | 85.4% |
| Taumarunui | 405 | 342 | 84.4% |
Proportion of outcomes resulting in a conviction, lowest 2019
| Courts | Total outcomes | Convicted | % Convicted |
| Kaikōura | 56 | 35 | 62.5% |
| Wellington | 7,179 | 4,535 | 63.2% |
| Queenstown | 1,026 | 650 | 63.4% |
| Greymouth | 1,066 | 689 | 64.6% |
| Auckland | 20,336 | 13,469 | 66.2% |
| Dunedin | 4,106 | 2,771 | 67.5% |
The very small Kaikōura District Court apart, Queenstown District Court had the biggest proportion of “other proved” (diversion or discharge without conviction) outcomes in 2019 (and 2018), at over 22% of all outcomes. At the other end of the scale was the District Court in Kaitaia and Kaikohe. Nationally, 3.9% of outcomes were in this category.
Proportion of outcomes resulting in an “other proved” finding, highest 2019
| Courts | Total outcomes | Other proved | % Other proved |
| Kaikōura | 56 | 13 | 23.2% |
| Queenstown | 1,026 | 228 | 22.2% |
| Alexandra | 434 | 63 | 14.5% |
| Levin | 2,010 | 215 | 10.7% |
| Greymouth | 1,066 | 100 | 9.4% |
| Dunedin | 4,106 | 308 | 7.5% |
Proportion of outcomes resulting in an “other proved” finding, lowest 2019
| Courts | Total outcomes | Other proved | % Other proved |
| Chatham Islands | 61 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Kaitaia | 1,888 | 29 | 1.5% |
| Kaikohe | 2,669 | 43 | 1.6% |
| Whangārei | 6,083 | 100 | 1.6% |
| Rotorua | 6,873 | 123 | 1.8% |
| Whanganui | 3,073 | 61 | 2.0% |
Wellington District and High Courts had the highest proportion of “not proved” outcomes (30%), with Marton District Court the lowest (8.6%). Nationally, 20.4% of outcomes were “not proved”.
Proportion of outcomes resulting in a “not proved” finding, highest 2019
| Courts | Total outcomes | Not proved | % Not proved |
| Wellington | 7,179 | 2,155 | 30.0% |
| Auckland | 20,336 | 5,812 | 28.6% |
| Blenheim | 2,203 | 596 | 27.1% |
| Chatham Islands | 61 | 16 | 26.2% |
| Greymouth | 1,066 | 277 | 26.0% |
| Gisborne | 4,176 | 1,048 | 25.1% |
Proportion of outcomes resulting in a “not proved” finding, lowest 2019
| Courts | Total outcomes | Not proved | % Not proved |
| Marton | 337 | 29 | 8.6% |
| Te Kuiti | 585 | 57 | 9.7% |
| Taumarunui | 405 | 41 | 10.1% |
| Waihi | 817 | 84 | 10.3% |
| Westport | 286 | 35 | 12.2% |
| Taupo | 1,822 | 223 | 12.2% |
Ethnicity and sentences
In 2019, Māori adults comprised 44% of adults convicted of an offence where ethnicity was known (in 10% of convictions it was recorded as unknown), but made up 62% of adults who were sentenced to imprisonment. The Statistics New Zealand information shows the most serious offence. Information for people of Asian ethnicity has been included for the first time.
Of people of Māori ethnicity who were convicted of an offence during 2019, 16.4% were sentenced to imprisonment for their most serious offence. In contrast, 11.4% of Pacific People, 10.0% of Europeans, 8.4% of Asians and 13.6% of other ethnicities were sentenced to imprisonment.
People of Māori ethnicity who were convicted in 2019 were also most likely to receive a community-based sentence for their most serious offence. That also means that over half – 51.4% – of all sentences imposed in 2019 where there was some control on liberty (imprisonment or community-based) were imposed on people of Māori ethnicity. With the ethnicity of 10% of people convicted not recorded, this means this is an “at least” statistic.
Updated data released on 5 March 2020 for Census 2018 showed that 70.2% of the population identified as European, 16.5% as Māori, 15.1% as Asian, 8.1% as Pacific Peoples and 4.0% as other ethnicities (with people often identifying with more than one ethnicity).
Adults convicted by sentence type (most serious offence), 2019
| Sentence | European | Māori | Pacific | Asian | Other | Unknown | Total |
| Convicted | 21,175 | 24,969 | 5,702 | 1,946 | 1,054 | 5,566 | 57,065 |
| Imprisonment | 2,124 | 4,087 | 648 | 163 | 143 | 118 | 6,646 |
| Community | 9,878 | 12,244 | 2,686 | 733 | 493 | 838 | 25,111 |
| Monetary | 6,769 | 5,281 | 1,592 | 860 | 296 | 4,023 | 18,274 |
| Other | 1,362 | 1,630 | 379 | 107 | 66 | 272 | 3,617 |
| None recorded | 1,042 | 1,727 | 397 | 83 | 56 | 315 | 3,417 |
Proportion of sentences imposed by ethnicity (most serious offence), 2019
| Sentence | European | Māori | Pacific | Asian | Other | Unknown |
| Convicted | 37.1% | 43.8% | 10.0% | 3.4% | 1.8% | 9.8% |
| Imprisonment | 32.0% | 61.5% | 9.8% | 2.5% | 2.2% | 1.8% |
| Community | 39.3% | 48.8% | 10.7% | 2.9% | 2.0% | 3.3% |
| Monetary | 37.0% | 28.9% | 8.7% | 4.7% | 1.6% | 22.0% |
| Other | 37.7% | 45.1% | 10.5% | 3.0% | 1.8% | 7.5% |
| None recorded | 30.5% | 50.5% | 11.6% | 2.4% | 1.6% | 9.2% |
Sentence imposed on conviction for each ethnicity (most serious offence), 2019
| Sentence | European | Māori | Pacific | Asian | Other | Unknown | Total |
| Imprisonment | 10.0% | 16.4% | 11.4% | 8.4% | 13.6% | 2.1% | 11.6% |
| Community | 46.6% | 49.0% | 47.1% | 37.7% | 46.8% | 15.1% | 44.0% |
| Monetary | 32.0% | 21.2% | 27.9% | 44.2% | 28.1% | 72.3% | 32.0% |
| Other | 6.4% | 6.5% | 6.6% | 5.5% | 6.3% | 4.9% | 6.3% |
| None recorded | 4.9% | 6.9% | 7.0% | 4.3% | 5.3% | 5.7% | 6.0% |
There were also regional differences when it came to the Justice Service Area where an imprisonment sentence was imposed. The table shows that in the Taitokerau service area (courts in Dargaville, Kaikohe, Kaitaia and Whangārei) imprisonment comprised 11.9% of sentences imposed on Europeans for their most serious offence, 17.6% of all sentences imposed on Māori, 17.4% on Pacific Peoples and 5.3% of all sentences imposed on Asians. Overall, 13.8% of all sentences imposed for the most serious offence in the service area was imprisonment (including other and unknown ethnicities).
Proportion of imprisonment sentences imposed, 2019 for most serious offence
| Justice Service Area | European | Māori | Pacific | Asian | All |
| Taitokerau | 11.9% | 17.6% | 17.4% | 5.3% | 13.8% |
| Waitemata | 7.4% | 15.4% | 10.9% | 4.5% | 7.9% |
| Auckland | 13.1% | 22.2% | 16.3% | 13.6% | 13.4% |
| South Auckland | 7.9% | 12.7% | 8.3% | 5.9% | 8.3% |
| Waikato | 12.1% | 18.5% | 14.5% | 7.6% | 13.5% |
| Bay of Plenty | 9.5% | 16.2% | 6.2% | 9.5% | 11.9% |
| Waiariki | 15.4% | 22.1% | 24.0% | 12.8% | 18.3% |
| East Coast | 7.6% | 14.9% | 13.8% | 8.6% | 11.6% |
| Taranaki/Whanganui | 10.1% | 15.8% | 15.9% | 16.7% | 11.2% |
| Manawatu/Wairarapa | 10.8% | 16.1% | 10.2% | 10.5% | 11.8% |
| Northern Wellington | 7.8% | 10.8% | 5.8% | 5.8% | 7.3% |
| Wellington | 10.9% | 19.7% | 16.3% | 3.8% | 12.4% |
| Nelson/Marlborough | 5.8% | 9.5% | 13.2% | 3.2% | 5.7% |
| Canterbury | 11.2% | 15.5% | 11.9% | 10.8% | 10.4% |
| Otago | 11.3% | 19.3% | 15.5% | 8.3% | 10.9% |
| Southland | 8.8% | 13.4% | 6.1% | 7.9% | 8.0% |
| Total New Zealand | 10.0% | 16.4% | 11.4% | 8.4% | 11.6% |
Age and Gender
Overall, in 2019 men made up 78.8% of adults convicted (most serious offence). There was relatively little difference between men and women over age groups.
There were some age differences between ethnicities. Half of Pacific women and men convicted in 2019 were aged under 30, the highest proportions. A higher proportion of European women and men were aged 40 or more on conviction.
Imprisonment
Department for Corrections information shows that at 31 December 2019, New Zealand had a prison population of 9,857 of whom 93.2% were male. Prisoners were held in 18 institutions, with the largest being Rimutaka Prison (1,021 prisoners), Mount Eden Corrections Facility (950) and Auckland South Corrections Facility (913). Remand prisoners made up 36.4% of the prison population, up from 30.1% a year earlier.
New Zealand prison population, 31 December 2019
| Category | Male | Female | Total |
| Remand | 3,322 | 270 | 3,592 |
| Sentenced | 5,869 | 396 | 6,265 |
| Total | 9,191 | 666 | 9,857 |
Of those in prison, 31.4% were aged under 30.
Over half those imprisoned were of Māori ethnicity. Prisoners of Asian ethnicity were recorded separately until the 30 June 2016 statistics, when they were included in “Other”.
Ethnicity of those in prison, 31 December 2019 and 2018
| Ethnicity | Proportion 2019 | Proportion 2018 |
| European | 31.1% | 31.7% |
| Māori | 51.8% | 51.0% |
| Pacific People | 11.7% | 11.2% |
| Other | 5.2% | 4.6% |
| Unknown | 0.2% | 2.5% |