Anzac blitz on drunken violence

Alcohol-induced violence and drug-related crime will be targeted in Christchurch as thousands of Kiwi police officers act in unison with Australian forces next month.

Police forces across Australasia have chosen a single weekend for a blitz on what they say is a trans-Tasman problem – booze-fuelled street crime.

Canterbury planned to extend the two-day trans-Tasman Operation Unite crackdown by boosting police numbers and increasing breath-testing patrols in the leadup to Christmas.

"We have picked up on that [Operation Unite] initiative around those [December] dates, but in addition, during that week, each day, we will focus on different crime types such as disorder, violence, drink-driving, breaching the liquor ban and underage drinking," Inspector Bryan Buck, of the Christchurch police, said yesterday.

Pre-Christmas revellers in Christchurch would see an increased police presence on the streets and in hotels and bars.

Police had already boosted their central-city presence, rostering more officers on the night beat.

The united stand against drunken violence, which costs New Zealand more than $1 billion a year, was announced in Perth yesterday at a meeting of New Zealand and Australian police commissioners.

New Zealand Commissioner Howard Broad said the ground-breaking operation would demonstrate the "united resolve of commissioners to change Australia and New Zealand's culture of binge-drinking in public places".

Police across New Zealand and Australia would be carrying out the main operation from December 11 to 12, he said.

Broad said police had "had enough" of dealing with New Zealand's dangerous culture of binge-drinking in public places.

The stance would challenge the public to take greater responsibility for their behaviour.

Alcohol was a major driver of the problems police faced, he said.

"Alcohol, particularly in combination with drugs, impacts on many aspects of policing, including violent offending, homicides, drink-driving, family-violence incidents, accommodating intoxicated people in police cells and incidents or offending involving young people," Broad said.

"While legislation and enforcement are key, changing the drinking culture is crucial.

"The `drink-to-get-drunk' culture cannot continue, or become the norm, and that is why we are taking decisive action."

He believed the operation would make people safer and more secure, and send a message that "enough is enough".

"We are not out to curb the enjoyment, but instead tackle this problem with a heightened sense of commitment and urgency."

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland agreed that there was a need for cultural change, along with better licensing regulations. "We all share the belief that more can, and must, be done to tackle the dangerous binge-drinking culture which has developed among our younger generations."

- © Fairfax NZ News