A Dunedin family had to pack a bag and leave their house on
Saturday night after a party across the street descended into
chaos, police say.
The incident was part of an "out-of-control and noisy"
weekend in the city, during which police received 24 calls in
relation to noise and disorder at parties.
This stretched police resources to the limit between 10.30pm
on Saturday and 4am yesterday.
A Northeast Valley resident, who declined to be named, said
she, her husband and two young boys were forced to leave
their house about midnight after a party at a flat across the
street spilled out on to the road.
"It wasn't just the music. There was lots of laughing,
screaming, crying and lots of swearing.
"It was disgraceful. They should be ashamed of themselves.
"I know it sounds hard to be intimidated by a poxy little
git, but they were intimidating on Saturday night.
"So we packed a bag and went to a relative's house across the
other side of town for the night."
Senior Sergeant Kelvin Lloyd said about 18 officers were tied
up with similar incidents across the city - predominantly
with out-of-control parties attended by young people, aged in
their late teens to early 20s, and assisting noise control
officers to turn off stereos.
Police arrested fewer than 10 people, despite being inundated
with calls. More could have been arrested had resources
permitted.
"It was a balancing act. We made minimal arrests so that we
could move on to the next job. We exercised discretion."
In some of the cases, police could not attribute blame to the
party organisers because they had problems with gate
crashers, he said.
"But in the majority of the cases, the supervision and
responsibility taken by the address occupants or party
organisers was woeful."
He said host responsibility did not just apply to licensed
premises.
The same responsibilities also applied to functions at
private residences or public halls, and there should be an
emphasis on security, he said.
"A good host should also ensure intoxication levels are not
taken to excess.
"Some planning and oversight needs to be taken by the hosts."
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.