The Press TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1972. Drunken violence at New Year

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32805, 4 January 1972, Page 10

The Press TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1972. Drunken violence at New Year

“The police in this day and age have difficulty “enough doing their job of controlling crowds of “ people without being interfered with ”, Mr K. H. J. Headifen, S.M., said in the Christchurch Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Experience on New Year’s Eve in several cities suggests that violence directed against the police has become an accepted form of behaviour for a section of the community. In Christchurch, Nelson, Auckland, Napier, and Gisborne the police were confronted by mobs of drunken louts who used the occasion of a crowded public celebration for violent and obscene behaviour.

Where offenders could be apprehended some stiff fines have subsequently been imposed by the courts, including a maximum fine of $2OO for a youth in Christchurch who admitted wilfully breaking a bottle which was said to have been thrown at the police. But strong penalties after the event are not enough. Too often today, when crowds of revellers gather, the anonymity which comes from being a member of a mob. and drunkenness by those too young or too stupid to hold their liquor, lead to ugly incidents. A man who throws a bottle in a crowd is, potentially, a killer. Suffer penalties might serve as a deterrent; and the authorities, national and local, will have to give some attenUon to the control of unruly crowds and drinking on the streets so that violence does not begin.

Most of the bottles used as offensive weapons must have been purchased earlier in the evening. While it may be impossible to prevent the sale of liquor in bottles throughout the day on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve much trouble might be prevented if botUe stores were obliged to close early — say, at 6 p.m.—or if only beer in cans were available on the day before a midnight celebration. Most drunken hooliganism is not planned. It develops because those who leave hotels at 10 p.m. do so with bottled supplies and conUnue to drink on the streets. Strict enforcement of the law against drinking in public, perhaps reinforced by powers for the police to confiscate any liquor found in the hands of pedestrians after, say, 11 p.m. would reduce the opportuniUes for violent drunkenness at midnight

Ordinary citizens who once turned out in thousands to see a new year begin now tend to stay away from public gatherings from fear of what might happen. The police, who have no alternative but to attend, are exposed to the risk of serious injury. High spirits which turn to vicious horseplay and bottle-throwing must be damped down. It should not be overlooked that in Tauranga, where violence has been common, New Year this time came in quietly, thanks to persistent rain. In times and places where nature is not so obliging high-pressure water hoses in the hands of the police might be the most effective means of dealing with mobs bent on behaving like animals.