Surprised drunks end up outside with the smokers

The minute the five fit-looking police peel out of the paddy wagon outside the strip of Ponsonby Rd bars, the murmuring begins among the drinkers.

"Is there a fight?" asks one. "Are they looking for someone?"

No, they are here to check for people who are intoxicated.

"In the bar? You're kidding."

It's the early hours of yesterday and the Auckland police tactical support group (formerly the team policing unit) is out scouring the city's bars looking for drunks.

It is part of a police move to more strictly enforce the Sale of Liquor Act requirement, which bars intoxicated people from being on licensed premises - a law which comes as a surprise to many drinkers.

"When you pull people out [of a pub or bar], they are astounded when you say, 'I've come here to check your intoxication level'," says Senior Sergeant Shane Mulcahy, the group's leader.

"They say, 'What do you mean? I've come here to get pissed.' And you say, 'No, under the Sale of Liquor Act, that's against the law."'

The group visits about 10 bars, usually finding four or five people drunk enough to be a problem.

Late Thursday, there were three in Glen Innes and Panmure. But by 1am in Ponsonby, it's turning into a quiet night as the team troops into the Safari Lounge.

Soon, however, several customers have been called outside for a chat.

After about 10 minutes, they are allowed back to their drinks.

Mr Mulcahy and his team have decided that no one here tonight is too drunk.

Everyone the Weekend Herald speaks to is unaware that the law forbids them from being intoxicated in a bar.

One man, 27, thinks it is fair if the police target those who are so drunk they are annoying people.

"But you wonder what happens to people when they get chucked out," he says. "Where do they go?"

Another man is more succinct. "This is bullshit," he says. "If the cops have got a problem with people drinking, there's a lot better ways of dealing with it. They shouldn't be marching into bars."