A criminologist says the jump in convictions for violent crime is another downside of the recession.
The rise is outlined in the 2008 criminal convictions and sentencing statistics, released by Statistics New Zealand on Friday.
University of Canterbury associate professor of sociology Greg Newbold says the statistics show an alarming increase in violent crime convictions.
In 1999, there were 15,000 convictions, but his rose to 21,000 last year.
Mr Newbold is expecting a further rise in violent crime convictions as the impact of the recession deepens, saying this will also lead to higher prison populations.
There were more than 228,000 convictions last year - about 15,000 more than in 2007 and a 50,000 increase on a decade ago.
Most of last year's convictions were for traffic or property offences.
