KEY POINTS:
Police in the North Island's holiday hotspots are gearing up for a visitor influx for New Year celebrations.
In Northland's tourist traps, police numbers on the beat and on the roads will be boosted from tonight.
Far North area commander Inspector Chris Scahill said
officers from Auckland and Whangarei had been called in to help in Paihia, Russell and the wider Bay of Islands area.
Eighty officers - including Mr Scahill - would be on the beat.
The area has had few problems or arrests in previous years and Mr Scahill is expecting the evening to be "business as usual" for police.
Today, a disused shipping container will be set up at the Paihia Memorial Hall to be used as a makeshift jail, or "holding pen".
In the Bay of Plenty, police from as far away as Christchurch are helping to patrol reveller rallying points.
Reinforcements from Palmerston North and New Plymouth have also arrived, and staff from Rotorua are commuting.
Liquor bans at Mt Maunganui and in central Tauranga have been extended, and Senior Sergeant Tania Kura said a lot of effort had gone in to telling people where they could drink.
In the past three days, 83 arrests had been made - comparable to last year.
Officers from Hastings and Wellington are helping police to deal with a big crowd of revellers and holiday-makers in Gisborne, where more than 20,000 people are attending the Rhythm and Vines Festival, which began yesterday.
The event ends with an all-night concert and party tomorrow night.
Gisborne police said the large number of people in the town, which usually has a population of about 45,000, was stretching resources, but people had been well behaved.
In Whitianga, officers from Auckland and Waikato are helping in the New Year build-up.
Senior Sergeant Sandra Venables said staff were not expecting any trouble, partly because there were no big events in the town this year.
Rain deluged the popular Coromandel holiday spot of Whangamata yesterday, and police say further downpours forecast through to New Year's Day will probably drive many young people south to Mt Maunganui and Gisborne.
A processing unit for anyone arrested during the holiday period has been set up at the police station.
In Taupo, Senior Sergeant Tony Jeurissen said New Year crowds were down on last year. "We're not expecting too many shenanigans."
