The inaugural award was handed down by the Ministry of Justice after a recent national flight plan conference with district court management staff. The Dunedin, Manukau and Levin District Courts were nominated for the award from the 60 district courts across New Zealand, but it was Dunedin's overall achievement which earned the court the award.
South Canterbury and Otago courts service delivery manager Dave Miller said he was ''enormously proud'' of what the Dunedin District Court staff had achieved.
''It's recognition of what the stakeholders - justices of the peace, the police, Corrections, Probation, legal aid services, the judiciary, Crown law and lawyers - have achieved.
''They have all led to delivering quality justice services more quickly here in Dunedin.''
The excellent results were achieved against a backdrop of major change in terms of the regional service delivery model, implementing the Criminal Procedures Act and major building challenges, Mr Miller said.
''Our focus on results of reducing the time that our customers spent in the criminal justice pipeline from an already low base has made our achievements even more outstanding.
''The improvement in delivery of our services and active stakeholder engagement also paid off.''
Mr Miller said the commitment and dedication of the staff had been outstanding during the difficult times, and still exceeded the expectations set.
