NYE teen rioters face two years' jail

First up...don't think I'm tarring you all with the same brush, but plenty of you will have freinds that head down the Mount, to Paihia etc, and end up getting in trouble with bottle throwing and what not. This was in this mornings Herald:

New Year teen rioters face two years' jail
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=283755&thesection=news&thesubsection=general&thesecondsubsection=
17.12.2001
By JO-MARIE BROWN and AUDREY YOUNG

Police and local authorities will crack down on drunken revellers this year by charging bottle-throwers with rioting and banning alcohol from trouble spots. Last year, hundreds of drunken young people at Mt Maunganui greeted the New Year by hurling bottles at police in riot gear who drove them away from an outdoor stage using shields and batons.

Most were charged with disorderly behaviour and fined $500. But this year offenders will be charged with rioting - punishable by two years' imprisonment. The thousands who descend on Mt Maunganui will encounter a tougher stance from police, the Tauranga District Council, liquor stores, camping ground owners and local teenagers themselves. Police will be on duty in "unprecedented" numbers.

"Last New Year for police was a war zone," said Senior Sergeant Duncan MacLeod, head of the Mt Maunganui station. "We don't want a repeat."

Embarrassment and disgust at last year's antics led to the creation of a local taskforce, which started planning in February for the coming festivities. Live bands and DJs will still perform outdoors, but new measures have been introduced to keep everyone in line.

Special rubbish bins have been installed so that once glass bottles and other potential projectiles go in, no one can take them out again. Liquor bans will be enforced around the concert area, and security guards instructed to eject people who are drunk or found with alcohol. To compensate, a temporary bar will be set up near the stages so people can drink - from plastic cups only - in a controlled environment.

Breweries and liquor store owners have agreed to provide canned beer rather than bottles to minimise danger. The Tauranga MP and NZ First leader, Winston Peters, is behind a draft law expected to be passed this week that gives local authorities greater power to ban alcohol from problem areas at particular times.

The Government is helping Mr Peters draft the bill, which may be passed under urgency in the final session of the year. At present, local authorities can pass bylaws only for a specified period, and a recent court case left questions over the extent of their authority to ban liquor.

These limited powers were criticised last week at the Central and Local Government Forum. Tauranga and Mt Maunganui have been trying to rid their district of its reputation for drunken revelry, making a special appeal to teenagers, usually seen as the culprits. Tauranga Girls College sixth former Sarah Michel and eight classmates have distributed 30,000 "Live it, survive it" brochures to deter young people from violent drunkenness.

She said: "We're not trying to preach ... We're simply trying to reinforce the facts teenagers already know, like if they get a conviction it's going to stuff up things like travel."

Other North Island towns are also gearing up for a New Year influx. Rural area controller for the Far North Inspector Paul Carpenter said more than 50 officers would be on duty in Paihia and Russell. Highway patrol cars and booze buses would be out in force.

Senior Sergeant Ross Ardern said Whangamata could well be a hot-spot and 50 police, mostly from Hamilton and rural districts, would be there to enforce liquor bans along the main beach.

What do you think? Is this unfair? Is the prospect of two years in the clink enough to make you avoid going to places like this for NYE, just in case the booze gets the better of you?

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

i think its unfair. sure its bad 2 drink and drive, and i suppose they have the right 2 stop ppl throwing bottles (although we did that last year). but can u honestly expect teenagers 2 stop drinking? especaily on new years eve? its a tradition 2 drink and stir up shit on new years eve, which ppl look forward 2 every year..... u cant stop it with a few restrictons and ull just piss ppl off. when ur drunk u dont realy think abt the 2 years imprisonment anyway.

and the police r gonna start pulling every single car with teenagers over, just for looking like trouble. its bad cuz my friend whos driving only has his restricted and hes gonna get into shit, even if hes sober, a good driver and responsible and stuff. and imagine wot thats gonna do 2 the traffic....

its like john banks trying 2 stop boy racers. its difficult, probably expensive and doesnt make that much of a difference. these small towns survived every new years eve riot before, and prolly even made quite a bit off liquor sales, food, accomodation etc so it sorta evens out. i think its just that the old ppl dont like the young ppl, thats all

hope ppl actualy read this!
bye *amy*

But it's not really anything to do with drinking and driving; this inititive is focused on the people who cause trouble. It's the age old problem; a few dickheads are now ruining the fun for everyone else. This is the core of what they are trying to do "But this year offenders will be charged with rioting - punishable by two years' imprisonment."

I saw some footage last night on the telly of last years riots. 16-17 year olds picking up 2m long metal barriers and huring them across the street/at cars/shops/people, a young guy getting escorted by the police (a female officer holding his arm), and he suddenly turned around and started attacking the cop. Would you accept this kind of behaviour year after year just outside your frontdoor?

If your mate gets done for breaking the rules of his restricted, then I'm afraid that's tough shit. He knows the rules, as stupid as he may think they are, and no matter how good a driver he is, the rules are the rules. If the cops decide to pull him over and check him out, then he has to face the consequences of breaking those rules. I never once worried about carting my mates around, driving late etc..I know how it is. I just never got caught. If you do, you face up to the penalties, be it fines of extention of the restrition period. It's a fact of life.

ya i guess *sigh* but come on... lighten up. we just wanna have a bit of fun without thrownig metal stuff around.
*amy*

If this was inforced and they did throw the book at teenagers rioting there is no way that they would be heading to jail as long as they have a relatively clean record. Worse case senario is you might get PD or some community service. And if you go to jail cause you've got a bad record already, well thats bad luck and you DO deserve to spend some time behind bars so you can wake up and smell the flowers that society has planted