Warnings make crims 'fearless'

Nearly 30 per cent of Northland offenders don't make it to court. Photo / File

With almost 30 per cent of Northland offenders not being charged for committing minor misdeeds a whole generation will grow up with no fear of the consequences of crime, Police Association president Greg O'Connor says.

New figures reveal nearly a third of Northland offenders are being dealt with outside of the courts, many given pre-charge warnings for minor offences. Mr O'Connor said the pre-charge warning system was a response to instruction from the Government to reduce the number of people entering the criminal justice system.

"(But) the consequence will be a generation growing up with no fear of consequences and they will behave accordingly," he said.

Police figures published by Statistics New Zealand show 70.4 per cent of Northland offenders were dealt with through court action in the year to July 31. A further 29.4 per cent were dealt with through non-court action and the remainder of cases weren't proceeded with. Just 14.9 per cent of those committing public order offences were dealt with by the courts, as well as 36.1 per cent of those charged with abduction, harassment and other related offences, and just under half of those whose offences related to theft.

Police say fewer such offences have been dealt with through courts since the introduction of pre-charge warnings, which are formal warnings for comparatively minor offences.

Police statistics for 2014 show 14,897 crimes were reported in Northland, of which 6458 were resolved - meaning an offender was apprehended and warned or prosecuted.

But Mr O'Connor said going to court acted as a deterrent, even if sentences didn't.

"I think what will happen is that, in future, police strategies will go the other way. They'll say, 'No we're going to arrest people and we're going to put them before the courts, we're going to keep them in the cells'."

Mr O'Connor said the pre-charge warning system had been initially effective, until criminals caught on to it. He had since heard complaints from police officers who were disappointed at the levels of pre-charge warnings.

Sensible Sentencing Trust Northland co-ordinator Steve Detlaff said the court system was blocked up and it was important to get serious offenders through the courts as quickly as possible. He didn't see a problem with first offenders being dealt with outside the court for non-serious offences. However, the trust believed those who committed multiple offences or violent crimes should go through the courts.

The trust was concerned that sentences handed to offenders in court were often light because prisons were overloaded.

Nationally, 62.1 per cent of offenders ended up before the courts in the year to July 31, with 37.1 per cent of offenders dealt with through non-court action and the remaining cases dropped.

To be given a pre-charge warning, offenders needed to be 17 years old or over, and to have committed low-level or minor offences with a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment.