The country's youngest offender in the past three years was a three-year-old shoplifter, police records show.

The oldest offender, aged 98, was also a shoplifter figures released to the New Zealand Herald showed.

Both the three-year-old boy and 98-year-old man were given warnings for their offences.

A four-year-old girl was apprehended for an arson, while a boy of the same age was apprehended for recklessly discharging a firearm.

Children under 10 cannot be convicted because they are deemed too young to have criminal intentions.

Shoplifting was the most common offence among the elderly, though an 87-year-old was warned for assault with a blunt instrument and an 88-year-old prosecuted for assault on a female.