Ministry of Justice

Among New Zealanders born in 1978, 16% had a criminal conviction by age 20 and 26% by age 38. Conviction rates vary across gender and ethnic groups with men and Māori having higher rates. Those born later, particularly in the 1990s, have lower rates of conviction, in major part due to increased use of alternatives to court action as part of the Policing Excellence programme that began in 2009.

Infographic showing victimisations reported to Police (2017).

Since June 2014 the number of people going into custodial remand has increased as has the average time on remand. As a result, the remand population has increased significantly over the same period.

The number of people charged in court for drug offences has fallen by 35% since 2010, mostly driven by a 58% decrease in people charged for cannabis. However, over the same period people charged for methamphetamine has increased by 34%, and now exceeds the number of people charged for cannabis.

The proportion of time served in prison before release is increasing. Since the Parole Act 2002 came into force, the average proportion of prison sentences served before release on parole has increased from 55% to 78%. This has been one of the key drivers of the increase in the number of people in prison.

The criminal justice system is made up of the proceeding, prosecution, court and sentencing stages. People ‘flow’ through the criminal justice system, taking different paths at each stage. Māori are disproportionately represented at all stages, and this rate of disproportion increases the further through the criminal justice system they go. This factsheet is supported by a visual representation of the system.