Taupō Police: Impact of alcohol on party season

Coming into the warmer months, Taupō Police are encouraging people to make a plan before they party. Photo / Rachel Canning

Going by the temperature in the car this morning, which displayed a fresh 3 degrees, the festivities of summer still seem some way away.

The ebb and flow of the policing year means police officers in the district are planning and thinking about the impact of alcohol and social occasions, family relationships and the pressures they come under, how our roads change and the dynamics of our area with holidaymakers and tourists flocking here to enjoy the lake.

Our front-line teams certainly had a reminder this weekend of what this means. A combination of several birthday parties meant they responded to several calls about disorder and assaults. Young people and some not-so-young people, intoxicated and spilling out onto the streets, and unfortunately in some cases being violent and disorderly.

At the same time, our teams were responding to a self-harm incident, two street robberies involving an out-of-towner in a stolen car, and other calls for service such as family harm incidents and disorder around our bars.

Generations of police officers know the carnage that alcohol has on our communities. Some of us dance better and our dad jokes improve, but not so for others.

We all know that alcohol reduces the ability of the frontal cortex to do its job of making decisions. This effect is even more pronounced for young people, who are still growing and developing this part of their brain.

Before the party season starts, let's turn our minds to some pre-loading of a different kind.

My big piece of advice is to make the key decisions before you start drinking. Make a plan for transport and not getting separated. Have someone designated to manage a party and set the expectations on who is there and acceptable behaviour.

This type of preloading goes a long way in mitigating the potential carnage that alcohol can cause.

Talk to your rangatahi before they start drinking. Once teenagers are drinking their frontal cortex is unable to make the right choices.

If you are the wingman or girl for the night, then space some drinks out with some water. Make sure the group stays together and have your transport sorted for the end of the night.

Preload with a basic strategy and then hopefully your memories will only be of outstanding dancing and even better jokes.

As the morning temperatures rise to 20 plus degrees, all police officers in the district will be hoping that people attending social occasions will look after each other, make great connections, and arrive home safely at the end.

Stay safe, Andy