Covid-19 coronavirus: More than 400 people convicted for breaching restrictions

One in five people convicted of breaching Covid-19 restrictions last year were sentenced to time in prison. Photo / RNZ

By RNZ

One in five people convicted of breaching Covid-19 restrictions last year were sentenced to time in prison.

Annual statistics from the Ministry of Justice show of the 640 people charged with offences, 460 were ultimately convicted.

Of those convicted, almost 20 per cent - 85 people - were sentenced to imprisonment.

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Forty-three percent got a community sentence, such as home detention, community detention, intensive supervision or community work.

A quarter of those charged were found not guilty, or the charges were dismissed or withdrawn.

Almost 80 percent of those convicted were men, and close to half were aged under 30.

Forty-eight percent were Māori and 46 percent were European.

- RNZ