Police ‘not ineffective’ at concert riot

Press, 2 March 1984, Page 3

Police ‘not ineffective’ at concert riot

PA Auckland The police could not withdraw their service to Auckland to protect a fence around a pop concert venue, said the Auckland Central area controller, Superintendent lan Mills, yesterday. Commenting on the gatecrashing of Western Springs Stadium during a concert by the British rock band, The Police, on Wednesday evening, Mr Mills said, “We will deploy what resources we can and will do the best we can. “To secure a perimeter of that size, you are talking of hundreds of policemen, and we have to provide a 24hour service to Auckland,” he said. “As far as I am concerned, the priority was not stopping people getting in without paying where there was more serious disorder elsewhere.” The concert promoter, Mr Hugh Lynn, estimated that 4000 people got into the stadium without paying. He claimed that the police did not do an adequate job. Mr Mills said, “Once the

fences were breached, we concentrated on disorder within the park. That was where the potential for the greatest disorder was. “There was an awful lot of liquor and pot there. We were not ineffective.” About 74 arrests were made, Mr Mills said. “Wherever we saw offending we took action,” he said. “Concerts are a fact of life. We are responsible for crowd control at main events, and we will continue to police them.” Mr Mills said the police would ask for a meeting with the Auckland City Council and concert promoters to discuss ways of averting such incidents as those at Western Springs on Wednesday evening. The Mayor of Auckland, Mrs Cath Tizard, said that the City Council would be “quite happy” to have no more rock concerts at the stadium. However, that would be neglecting the council’s duty to provide recreational facilities for young Aucklanders. Mrs Tizard said, “we could put guards on every bit of the fence with

machine-guns ... apart from that I don’t see any way of stopping this. “Western Springs is just not an adequate venue for these events, but it happens to be all that Auckland has. “Certainly the planned indoor stadium for Mount Smart would be a much more secure and easily controlled venue.” Police inquiries were continuing last evening into the alleged rape of a girl, aged 17, by four men near the stadium on Wednesday evening, and an indecent assault on a girl, aged 14, at the concert.