Police are pleased with the outcome of a major prevention operation targeting alcohol-related harm in Auckland City overnight.
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¡°Unfortunately we still had to make a number of arrests overnight for alcohol-related disorder. But, on the whole, last night¡¯s alcohol-fuelled disorder was less than on a typical Saturday night,¡± says Inspector Mark Benefield.
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More than 70 Police and partner agency staff were kept busy with Operation Relentless, which focused on alcohol-related offending in Auckland¡¯s CBD and other hot-spots, including Ponsonby and Mission Bay.
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¡°Our focus last night was prevention and a zero tolerance approach to alcohol-related crime. We used a number of tactics, such as high visibility foot patrols, drink driving tests and enforcing alcohol bans,¡± says Inspector Benefield.
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¡°We had to respond to a big spike in disorder and assaults in the CBD around 4am. Unfortunately this has become common as it¡¯s when licensed premises close and people congregate on the streets after drinking alcohol for long periods of time.¡±
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Fifteen people were arrested overnight for disorder and violence-related offences where alcohol was at the centre of offending.
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Twelve people will be prosecuted for drink driving.
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Police issued 29 infringement notices, which involved a $250 fine, for people breaching local alcohol bans in Ponsonby and the CBD.
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Controlled Purchase Operations (CPOs) were also conducted earlier yesterday. Of the 25 off-licence premises tested none sold alcohol to minors. One of the two on-license premises tested failed. This is a low failure rate compared to other recent CPOs in Auckland City.
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Ends
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Issued by Kim Chambers 021 911 967/ 51½ÖÉä?