Whangarei police say they'll have an increased police presence at popular LGBT campground Uretiti Beach next New Year's Eve, after hundreds of drunken teenagers raided the area on New Year's Day 2007. Constable Vikki Cunningham, Diversity Liason Officer at Whangarei Police Station, says she knows many people camping in the popular grounds south of Ruakaka that night were “terrified”. “A whole lots of the kids texted each other, turned up at the beach where there's no police presence, drank as fast and as hard as they can, and then got all rowdy and showing off to their mates,” she explains. “Things turned a bit nasty and they started throwing bottles at each other. “At New Years, kids hit the beaches where they know the cops aren't going to be. And after previous trouble at on the Eastern beaches further north, we had huge police presence there. So I think they just headed to where police numbers were pretty thin. Whangarei police were there to assist on the night, and to block any more people from entering the campsite for the ‘New Year's Eve Rave'. “They had the police turn up in force once it became apparent things were going pretty silly down there. Our roving policing unit went down and sorted a few things out. Unfortunately it took a bit of time to get there.” Planning for next New Year's Eve, Cunningham says Whangarei police resources will be stretched thinner, “but we'll be more visible in different places. “Each year things happen, and with hindsight as a tool we try to work out a strategy for the following year.” Cunningham doesn't think Uretiti Beach was targeted for any other reason than the perception that there wouldn't be many police there. “There's no real maliciousness in it, in terms of a ‘hate crime' type thing, they're just kids, going to where they think they can get away with being idiots.” Ref: GayNZ.com (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Saturday, 3rd February 2007 - 12:00pm