Students brawling on leave

Police are beefing up their numbers in Mission Bay to prevent repeats of two huge brawls among school students that broke out last week.

At 4.10pm last Thursday a fight broke out on Selwyn Reserve and within minutes about 40 teenagers were viciously scrapping.

A similar ruckus broke out the next day shortly after 1pm.

Glen Innes senior sergeant Graeme Porter says the students were on study leave but had converged on the reserve. Many had been drinking before they arrived.

"School honours were challenged, there was some name calling and it started a large brawl with about 40 people," he says.

"The unusual factor this time is that both fights were started by girls."

Reinforcements were called in and 20 police officers soon separated the school groups. Four arrests were made and officers escorted students on the public bus back to the city.

Mr Porter says most of the problem students were from west, central or south Auckland schools.

After the first brawl, police had planned to double their numbers in Mission Bay from 3pm last Friday, but the fighting began earlier than anticipated.

"At 1.05pm everything was amicable. They were just enjoying themselves, but four minutes later we had a phone call saying it had turned to custard," Mr Porter says.

Police are monitoring the situation daily and will be "beefing up police numbers completely" when NCEA exams finish on December 2.

Anyone acting out of order will be arrested.

Similar fights broke out at the same time last year. He plans to talk to principals before next year’s school break-up to enlist their support in deterring the gatherings.

Mr Porter says the behaviour is "disappointing".

"It’s a waste of our resources and the local community doesn’t want to see it there.

"We’ve got better things to do than babysit school students."

- © Fairfax NZ News