There has been a reduction in the amount of time it takes for criminal cases to go through the courts in Auckland.
District Courts in the northern region of the city (Auckland, North Shore and Waitakere) achieved a 29.1 per cent reduction in the age of criminal cases - with an average time of 122 days for cases active at the end of December 2014 - a reduction of 44 days.
District Courts in the city's southern region (Manukau, Pukekohe, Papakura) achieved a 20.6 reduction in the age of criminal cases - with an average time of 108 days. This represents a decrease of 29 days.
Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams says the Government focused on reducing needless delays because going through courts can be stressful for victims, witnesses and their families.
"We've made some strong headway across all courts in Auckland as we work towards keeping everyone's time in the court system to a minimum.
"Crime rates are falling across the country which is certainly assisting in reducing the time court cases take," says Ms Adams.
The Ministry of Justice has set itself a target to halve the time it takes to deliver justice services by 2017.
As at the end of December 2014, there was a nationwide reduction of 21.5 per cent in the average age of active criminal cases.
When civil cases, Family Court and Disputes Tribunal cases were included the overall reduction in Auckland's northern region was 12.5 per cent to an average age of 200 days. In the southern region of the city the overall reduction was 9.1 per cent to an average age of 184 days, including a 26.4 per cent fall in jury trials times to 322 days, down from 437 days.
"All of Auckland's courts have seen a significant reduction in the average age of criminal cases and reductions in cases overall. We're continuing to work hard to achieve our target of halving the time it takes to deliver justice services.
"Our courts have a hard-earned reputation for fairness and impartiality, but they also need to move cases through the system efficiently. The Government is focused on improving the transparency, speed and efficiency with which our courts operate and ensuring the way courts work reflects the modern age we live in," says Ms Adams.