Rob Kidd

It took a Waihola handyman 49 years to get his first conviction; his second was prompted just minutes after the first offence, driven by a desperation to avoid publicity.

A Christchurch man who came to Dunedin and tagged three buildings has objected to doing community work, because he is ''a very busy person with work''.

Two men who attacked a fellow inmate in the recreation yard have been sentenced to further jail time.

A Dunedin recidivist burglar has had his jail term reduced after the sentencing judge overstated the amount of planning that went into his crime spree.

A teenager who totalled her car after speeding through a residential Dunedin street "understands how lucky she is" to have walked away almost unscathed, a court has heard.

A family clash over viewing the Royal wedding led to a man beating his wife with a lamp cord.

A Dunedin man went after his ex-boyfriend with a broken bottle after finding him with a new partner, a court has heard.

A Milton teen who repeatedly spoke about murdering his mother with a firearm or crossbow will spend time behind bars because he has nowhere else to live.

A Dunedin man who stalked his ex-girlfriend and urinated on her new lover's car has been sentenced to home detention.

An oversight by Corrections allowed an inmate to use a prison phone to illegally contact his victim more than 1000 times.

The Chief District Court Judge has called for an overhaul of the justice system, to avoid perpetuating the cycle of disadvantage, particularly for Maori.

The winner of the Otago Daily Times’ inaugural prison writing competition can finally be revealed in all its melancholic maritime majesty.

A man who scratched swastikas on a woman's car has been before the court every year of his adult life, a court heard.

A veteran Dunedin gang kingpin got an unwelcome birthday present last week - a 15-month prison term.

When Robin Abraham needed a place to live, his friends agreed to put him up, but he repaid them by making "vile'' sexual comments to their 8-year-old daughter.

A Central Otago shearer who raped his ex-partner while making their children wait in the car outside has been jailed for six years.

The entries are in and incarcerated southern scribes face a nervous wait.

Dunedin criminals might be breathing a temporary sigh of relief — Judge Kevin Phillips is doing his final stretch.