Wānaka residents and visitors appear to have hooked into the alcohol and the Christmas spirit a little earlier than normal this holiday season, Constable Deane Harbison said yesterday.
Just one driver from more than 200 tested in Wānaka so far has been charged with drink-driving after leaving the scene when stopped last Thursday and failing to supply a blood alcohol test.
Between last Friday and yesterday morning there had been no other alcohol-related driving offences.
However, alcohol remained a factor in other reported incidents, with police yesterday investigating a situation that developed between two groups of people after bars closed on Boxing Day. Const Harbison declined to reveal more details of that incident.
Police gave one intoxicated man a ride home from town on December 23; an alcohol-related domestic assault was reported on Christmas Eve, several infringement notices were issued to people breaching the 24-hour lakefront liquor ban also on Christmas Eve; and one man was charged with urinating in a public place.
Many people spent Christmas Eve in bars and after closing time, police were called to supervise people taking an early morning dip in Lake Wānaka.
One swimmer left their belongings on the beach, keeping police busy trying to discover whether they had emerged from the water safely.
Const Harbison said that situation was resolved but was worrying for the police at the time.
On Christmas Day, just one liquor ban infringement notice was issued. Otherwise behaviour was "pretty good".
Up to 50 Southern police officers will soon be arriving to monitor Wānaka events over the New Year period.
Campers are beginning to arrive for the holidays and a good collection of lost property has begun to pile up at the Wānaka Police Station.
Const Harbison said it took a "team effort" to communicate the message of limiting alcohol intake, from people who sell alcohol through to parents of under-agers.
"We do have that issue [of parental supply] here at this time of the year. Parents do bring under-agers to town along with four or five of their friends because Wānaka is supposed to be the safest place in the country. And then they let them loose with alcohol ... Parents can be prosecuted, as did happen last year," Const Harbison said.
