Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Total number of criminals not on rise - report

Updated at 9:00 am on 13 March 2010

A new report from the Department of Corrections suggests that the number of criminals in New Zealand is not on the rise.

The department's Offender Volumes Report shows that in the year to June 2009 the total number of offenders under its management did not change much.

It says most of its new intake came from a pool of known offenders seen during the past 10 years.

The manager of strategy and research for the department, Peter Johnston, says the figures suggest the number of active offenders in New Zealand isn't rising.

While the reasons for that aren't clear, he says, it could reflect increased police numbers and improving crime resolution rates.

Copyright © 2010, Radio New Zealand