Police have issued about 19,000 warnings for low-level crimes in the past 15 months, meaning thousands of arrested people have avoided prosecution the New Zealand Police revealed yesterday.
Police Commissioner Peter Marshall says the approach is not being soft on crime. He hailed it as a resounding success, reducing the number of charges in district courts by 9% and freeing up officers for more active policing.
Half of the 19,000 pre-charge warnings issued between September 2010 and last November were for breaches of liquor bans and general disorder. Other common offences included fighting in a public place or shoplifting an item worth less than $500.
"These are 19,000 people who would otherwise go to court, who would clutter up the system in terms of court time, let alone police officers preparing prosecution files and spending time in court. So it frees up the system," Mr Marshall said.
"Do you want to spend an hour doing correspondence, putting a person through the court and get a minimal sanction for an offence that happened under the influence of alcohol, at two in the morning?" he said.
Those given a warning were often first-time offenders who deserved a second chance, the commissioner said.
"These are people who do something silly ... and they are fingerprinted and photographed ... It doesn't send a message they can get away with it."
