KEY POINTS:
Well bugger me. In a move that would have good keen bloke Barry Crump spitting in his grave - and no doubt delivering a few choice expletives of his own - Rotorua police are cracking down on public profanity and spitting in the street.
The clampdown is part of a drive to sweep uncouth, foul-mouthed youths out of the tourist city centre over the school holidays. It will see some offenders having to cough up a $1000 fine.
Civil libertarians have described it as, well, bollocks.
Senior Sergeant Ed van Den Broek said Rotorua's crime rate traditionally peaked during the two-week break. It coincided with increased visitor numbers and an influx of bored, young, "out of towners" looking for trouble.
The city's tactical response team had boosted its ranks from four to eight to cope with an expected rise in shoplifting, vandalism and other offensive behaviour, including swearing and spitting, he said.
"When you are walking round town, and especially if you are with kids, you don't want to hear people f-ing and cursing. It's just not necessary, and not everyone wants to hear that sort of carry-on," said Den Broek.
He would not give examples of words that might be deemed offensive - or inoffensive - saying that it was subjective and would depend on the situation.
"It's not black and white. We would look at the number of people who are around at the time, and the context."
People spotted spitting by police had previously been told to wipe up their saliva.
A hefty fine would make them aware of the seriousness of their actions and help raise the city's standards. "They wouldn't do it in their house or on their property so why should they be allowed to do it out on the street?"
Michael Bott, chairman of the NZ Council for Civil Liberties, called the action heavy-handed. Targeting youth, when swearing was widespread across all sectors of society, was discriminatory and unjustified, he said.
"What's interesting is that a lot of rap music and modern hip hop now often uses incredibly vulgar worlds - the word f ... is used regularly. It's played in music stores and nightclubs," said Bott.
"The music industry is controlled by rich, white people. So basically what's one person's offensive language is another person's business."
Meanings of words constantly changed along with social mores, and free speech, as outlined in the Bill of Rights meant people could express their opinion with whatever words they chose to, he said.
However he said spitting was a different story, given health concerns over the spread of viruses such as meningitis and hepatitis C.
