The main problem on Saturday night and Sunday morning was a mass of "drunken fighting" which kept officers busy for much of the night, Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken said.
He was, however, especially concerned about a report from a 16-year-old girl who received burns to one of her legs when someone threw a lit firework at her on Saturday.
Jessica Hatfield told the ODT she was standing on South Rd about midnight waiting for a friend to pick her up when she saw the sparks of a firework near her.
Seconds later she felt a "pretty intense" pain when the spinning firework burned through her stocking, scorching her leg in several places. She said she saw three young boys run off.
It was a scary experience, and she felt lucky the firework had not struck her in the face.
She went to the emergency department at Dunedin Hospital, but seeing how busy it was, left and had her wounds treated at home by her mother, a nurse.
Snr Sgt Aitken said Miss Hatfield's injuries were particularly nasty, and very painful.
The behaviour of whoever had set off the firework was completely irresponsible, and police were "extremely" interested in any sightings or information about the people who threw the firework at her, he said. He asked anyone with any information to call Dunedin police.
