More people in Otago are being prosecuted for committing crimes and conviction is more common, according to latest figures from the Ministry of Justice.
Annual figures released yesterday show the number of prosecutions in courts in Otago in 2009 was 12% higher than the previous year, and 59% higher than in 2000.
Last year, 15,430 criminal charges were prosecuted in Otago's five courts, including Queenstown.
Nearly seven out of every 10 charges laid resulted in a conviction.
The Otago figures show that the conviction rate had risen 3% since 2000, to 68% in 2009.
The result is more than that of the combined Southern court region (from Kaikoura south), which has maintained a steady conviction rate of 63% over the 10 years; and it is comparable with the national conviction rate, which has also increased 3% over the decade, to 69%.
Across the Southern court region, prosecutions and convictions rose in all categories, except fraud and deception offences.
The categories are homicide and related offences, acts intended to cause injury, sexual assault offences, dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons, abduction and harassment, robbery offences, burglary offences, theft offences, fraud and deception offences, illicit drug offences, prohibited weapons offences, public order offences and traffic and vehicle offences.
Traffic offences accounted for most of the convictions in the Southern court region.
The charges least likely to result in a conviction were sexual assault offences.
Only 42% of prosecutions ended in conviction.
Convictions for homicides and related offences, including manslaughter, attempted murder and driving causing death, stood at 24, the highest number in the decade.
In Otago, Dunedin, which has the largest population, had the highest rate of prosecutions, followed by Oamaru and Queenstown.
However, Oamaru had the highest conviction rate (73%), followed by Balclutha (72%).
Queenstown had the lowest conviction rate (49%).
In New Zealand 370,000 criminal charges were prosecuted last year, with the overall prosecution rate increasing 19% over the decade from 260 to 311 per 10,000 residents.
Some of the increase, but not all, could be attributed to the increase in the population, the ministry said.
Forty-two percent of those convicted were fined, 27% were given community service, and 9% were sent to prison.
