Taxi crowds 'disaster waiting to happen'

BY GRANT BRYANT IN QUEENSTOWN

Queenstown taxi dispatcher Lisa Harley always said someone could get killed while waiting for a cab in the resort town.

Drunken crowds that gathered outside the Shotover St dispatch office of Queenstown Taxis were frequently out of control and a disaster waiting to happen, Ms Harley said yesterday.

Sure enough, when Mark Smith died after being punched by Paul Richards while waiting at a Camp St taxi rank on November 19, she was not surprised.

"I got a real chill."

Yelled abuse, takeaway food splattered over the perspex window of the dispatch office and drunken men trying to barge in were common on Friday and Saturday night, she said.

"Once they get inside a taxi they're probably fine.

"But sometimes there's 50 people waiting for one so there's constant scrapping over who'll get it.

"It's a free-for-all and people often push and shove to try and get it."

Ms Harley said police patrols and community guides often quelled the mob-like behaviour, but a more constant approach was needed.

"Security cameras would probably be effective – that and lots of signs saying cameras are watching you."

Richards, an English insurance broker, had been living in Queenstown at the time of Mr Smith's death. He had been drinking for six hours before the taxi stand altercation.

Kelly Pia, a Queenstown doorman of six years, said the fact the scuffle leading to Mr Smith's death happened close to the Queenstown police station, before midnight on a Thursday night, was indicative of a binge-drinking culture that spilled into the resort's streets.

"At night the Camp St (taxi) stand is basically a public meeting point for people who've had a lot to drink, which has led to trouble," Mr Pia said.

Queenstown community guides acted as an incentive for people to behave, but further security measures were needed in the resort, he said.

"I think police are understaffed in Queenstown.

"Just seeing them around keeps people in line, and more regular patrols would be good. Personally, I think CCTV cameras are a good idea and really effective."

Otago rural area commander Inspector Mike Cook said Mr Smith's death had led to police using available resources to look at places where people congregated in Queenstown.

He said a constable who was on light duties while recovering from an injury had been working fulltime on researching ways to minimise violence at such points.

"The constable is looking at lighting and queuing patterns that are currently in place or happen at the Camp St taxi rank, as well as other similar points in Queenstown."

The constable had been looking at arrangements in New Zealand cities and other countries and was looking at ways successful strategies could be implemented in Queenstown, Mr Cook said.

- © Fairfax NZ News