Serious conviction rate over half in five years
Just over half those facing serious criminal charges in New Zealand in past five years have been convicted.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice, released under the Official Information Act, show the conviction rate for murder, rape, robbery, drug offences, fraud and abduction since 2013 sits at 55 per cent. Charges not proved include those acquitted and where charges were withdrawn or dismissed.
In that time, 239,345 serious charges have been laid. Some individual crimes result in multiple charges.
The overall imprisonment rate for those convicted, excluding rape and murder, is about 40 per cent.
Rape has the lowest conviction rate of the offences, with around one in three rape trials nationwide ending with a successful conviction.
At the other end of the scale, fraud and deception have the highest conviction rate at 65 per cent. Of those, 28 per cent end up in prison. The number of fraud charges last year was the lowest in five years, down 37 per cent from 2013.
Of the 299 murder charges in the past five years, 58 per cent resulted in conviction. The ‘‘not proved’’ outcomes include when the charge is withdrawn or dismissed in favour of a manslaughter charge.
Just under half of robbery, extortion and related offences led to a conviction. Charges laid were at their highest point in the past five years last year, up by a third from 2015.
The conviction rate for abduction offences is about 60 per cent.
The figures show about one third of drug criminals end up in prison, while one in five end up with community work. The conviction rate is 64 per cent.
Justice Minister Andrew Little said it was difficult to compare statistics because each case was considered on its specific merits. ‘‘Looking specifically at the conviction rates for murder, it shows a conviction rate of 55 per cent, but that doesn’t tell us how many cases started with a charge of murder and resulted in a conviction for manslaughter.’’
Dunedin-based QC Anne Stevens said few would opt for jury trial unless they had a viable defence, so she expected a good proportion to be found not guilty.
She had represented seven men cleared of rape at trial. The emotional effects of being charged with a serious crime were often lifelong, she said. ‘‘Even if they’re found not guilty . . . they feel it for life. It is so traumatic.’’
Christchurch woman Tandy GwazeMusesengwa’s father George Gwaze was cleared of the rape and murder of his 10-year-old niece Charlene Makaza, who Gwaze had adopted. He was acquitted twice after trials in 2008 and 2012.
Gwaze-Musesengwa, who later trained as a lawyer, said it was distressing for the whole family and affected every part of their lives. ‘‘You’re dragged through the mud and expected to pick up the pieces and just carry on with your lives and fix each other, and there’s just no support, no apology, nothing. You’re just expected to move on.’’
She said there should be a system put in place to support those who go through an investigation and are then acquitted. It changed her perspective of the justice system, and had taught her a person was innocent until proven guilty.
Police Association president Chris Cahill said it was ‘‘frustrating’’ for officers when a case was not proven in court. ‘‘What we would always say to police officers is all you can do is ensure you present the best possible case to court, as long as you can say I found as much evidence as I could, it’s up to the court if someone is convicted and if someone goes to prison.’’
Daniel Toresen, of private investigation firm The Investigators, said police appeared ‘‘disinterested’’ in fraud and needed to approach it as a serious crime.
Fraud prosecutions were often ‘‘very black and white’’, he said. ‘‘The problem is that person generally doesn’t fit the mould of a bank robber or a really serious criminal so they’re usually people from normal walks of life and they’re treated a bit lighter than a normal criminal.’’
The low imprisonment rate was related to New Zealand’s ‘‘significant fraud problem’’, Toresen said.
National’s justice spokesman Mark Mitchell said, as a former police officer, he knew police were ‘‘diligent and careful’’ with investigations and preparing prosecution cases.
The figures highlighted a ‘‘high threshold’’ must be reached for someone to be sent to prison, he said. ‘‘The people who are in prison are there to keep the public safer. That is why it is deeply concerning that the Government has sent a clear signal to our judiciary that they want a big decrease of people in our prisons with a soft on crime approach.’’