Fewer Western Bay offenders are being discharged without conviction, figures show.
Ministry of Justice figures released to the Bay of Plenty Times show Tauranga courts discharged 58 people without conviction last year, down from 69 the previous year and 65 in 2011.
The majority of the offences in the past three years were for "acts with intent to injure", followed by theft and "dangerous or negligent" acts that put people in danger.
Western Bay offenders also escaped convictions for sexual assault, fraud, prohibited weapons and drugs offences.
Of the 58 local discharges last year, 37 of the accused were male, 20 were female and one was a corporation.
Tauranga's Crown solicitor Greg Hollister-Jones said the criteria to qualify for a discharge without conviction were specific.
And pre-charge warnings and other alternative police measures meant a lot of the lower level offending was being dealt with early on.
"The combination of diversion and pre-charge warnings means there's a whole layer of offending that doesn't get to the court.
"The public aren't going to be concerned about somebody getting a discharge without conviction for possession of minor amount of cannabis or for urinating in the street."
The number of people discharged without conviction nationally also dropped from 3185 in 2011 to 2720 in 2012, to 2199 last year.
Last month, Maori King Tuheitia's son, Korotangi Paki, 19, made headlines when he was let off charges of burglary, theft and drink-driving after his defence counsel successfully argued a conviction would ruin his chances of succeeding to the throne.
In the High Court at Auckland recently, Justice Helen Winkelmann decided not to convict the teen who assaulted 15-year-old West Auckland schoolboy Stephen Dudley before his death on June 6 last year.
Sensible Sentencing Trust national spokeswoman Ruth Money said while the number had come down, more discharges were being granted for "inappropriate" crimes such as assault and drink-driving causing injury.
"Frequently we have victims coming through to us saying 'I was the victim in this case, how could this happen?
"We are certainly being overwhelmed with what we would classify as unwarranted discharges."
She said it was difficult to get a grip on the real crime rate given the number of plea bargains and "alternative actions" by police.
Districts Courts general manager Tony Fisher said a judge had the ability to grant a discharge without conviction under the 2002 Sentencing Act, unless there was a minimum sentence specified for the offence.
"The court may order a discharge without conviction if it is satisfied that the direct or indirect consequences of a conviction would be out of all proportion to the seriousness of the offence.
"This allows an offender to be warned of the consequences of further offending, yet avoid the stigma and other consequences of a conviction."
However, a discharge without conviction could be accompanied by orders to pay costs or compensation, Mr Fisher said.
Discharges without conviction
• Western Bay of Plenty 65 (2011); 69 (2012); 58 (2013)
• National 3185 (2011); 2720 (2012); 2199 (2013)