Make New Years one to remember – not one to regret

Plan your night, make sure you have a sober driver, and most importantly, look after yourself and look after your mates – make your New Years one to remember and not one to forget or regret. That remains the message from Bay of Plenty Police, despite many New Year events in the region being cancelled due to bad weather.

The Tauranga City Council New Years Eve events at Mt Maunganui were cancelled yesterday, while Rotorua’s Lakeside concert will now be held indoors at the Energy Events Centre tonight.

“We’re asking people to be sensible about their New Years Eve celebrations. Whilst many events have been cancelled and plans have been changed, we know that people will still want to celebrate the new year in some way,” says District Operations Manager, Inspector Scott Fraser.

“Please take extra care today, tonight and in the coming days, especially on the roads.

“The Bay of Plenty and Taupo have seen a great deal of rain in the past couple of days and this is forecast to continue. Our roads are already sodden and driving conditions are more dangerous than usual. Please take extra care out on the roads and drive to the conditions.”

Inspector Fraser says the changes in public events haven’t changed the Police operation for New Year’s Eve and the peak summer period.

“Bay of Plenty Police will still be very visible tonight in local communities and out in force around the District in an effort to reduce alcohol-related harm and to try and keep people safe.

"This is a busy time for Police, but it is now business as usual for us every year. We plan to be busy during this period and we have the people and resources in place to prevent and manage issues and we simply get on with the job that needs to be done.”

"It is our job to prevent crime and crash and ensure the safety of our community and we will be very visible and actively policing alcohol-related issues tonight and across the summer period to achieve that. We don't make any apologies for taking a hard line in this area if it means we can reduce the impact.

"Alcohol is still a factor in more than a third of recorded offences and a third of all Police calls for service. It's prevalent across all our statistics, but is a major factor in disorder, violence, family violence and road crashes causing injury and death.

"Sadly, it becomes an even bigger issue over the summer period, and particularly during the festive season, for the community and all its service agencies, including councils, Police, hospitals, iwi organisations, Government agencies and other emergency services.

"There is considerable concern about the increasing numbers of young people, particularly young females, who are consuming large amounts of alcohol in a typical drinking session – and particularly over the summer period. This makes young people more likely to become a victim or a perpetrator of crime, and they are less likely to make good decisions about keeping themselves safe.

"This is why preventing alcohol-related harm is a key priority for Police and our community partners.”

Liquor bans remain in place across the Bay of Plenty tonight.

Inspector Fraser says Police take a "low tolerance approach" to alcohol-related disorder or breach of liquor ban.

"This means that we will take some level of positive action."

Inspector Fraser says this low tolerance approach, combined with local efforts such as liquor bans, are in place for a reason – to manage issues early in the day or evening, to prevent major problems, crime and disorder later.