DUNEDIN BATTLES ITS DEMONS

Statistics released this week revealed a disturbing increase in
alcohol and drug-related offending. Why is this increase happening now
and whose job is it to reverse the trend? LEA STEWART finds out what's
happening with substance abuse in Dunedin.

April 1959: A 47-year-old Dunedin man is convicted of disorderly
behaviour and assaulting a woman while drunk.

August 1973: After an increase in the number of drug seizures, two
dogs are trained at the police college to sniff out illegal drugs.

December 1996: Two drunken men almost drown when the canoe they stole
sinks in Otago Harbour.

August 2002: A 22-year-old Dunedin woman gets behind the wheel of her
car after drinking and crashes it into a tree. Her passenger, who is
her best friend, is still recovering from head injuries she received.

September 2003: An 11-year-old Dunedin boy is taken into police
custody after he is seen stumbling along Gt King St. He is so drunk he
cannot talk.

February 2004: An intoxicated Dunedin student leans out of the window
of his second-storey flat to vomit. He falls out and suffers head
injuries on hitting the pavement below.

Thursday, March 11, 2004: An intoxicated, 26-year-old man allegedly
points a gun at people in the Dunedin city centre. He is arrested by
armed police, at which time it is discovered the gun is a toy. He is
still before the courts.

Binge drinking and drugs have been a part of New Zealand society for
generations.

Grandparents will swear booze was not an issue in their day but
records prove them wrong.

Today, there are almost 200 licensed premises in Dunedin and alcohol
can be bought from supermarkets and some dairies.

So whose responsibility is it to address this issue?

It is often police who have to mop up the results of too much booze or
drugs: telling someone their loved one has been killed by a drunk
driver, or arresting the person whose inhibitions have been so dulled
by booze they are urinating in a shop doorway or are lashing out at
members of the public.

Of the 812 people who spent time in the Dunedin police cells between
September 2003 and February this year, only 19 were not affected by
alcohol. Of the 793 who were affected, 89 were considered extremely
intoxicated, 345 moderately intoxicated and 319 slightly. The level of
intoxication was not known for 40.

Acting district commander Inspector Dave Cliff said: "Drinking to
excess is a normal practice in New Zealand.

"Changing that culture is a huge issue but it needs to be done.
Studies show us that drinking leads to crime . . . [either] the drunk
person becomes a victim or the offender."

Insp Cliff said he did not believe the problem was exaggerated in the
media.

"Clearly, alcohol and other substance abuse is related to
crime.

"If people went out and had one or two drinks, there wouldn't be this
problem, but they don't. Some people actually go out with the aim of
getting drunk and society says that's okay."

The Sale of Liquor Act, introduced in 1989, loosened up regulations on
alcohol in a bid to make it less of a novelty.

Hotel drinking hours were extended, followed by alcohol sales being
allowed on off-licence premises and finally the legal drinking age was
lowered to 18.

"In Europe, the restrictions around alcohol are looser and they don't
seem to have the same binge drinking and abuse we do here. It was
hoped people would become more mature about alcohol if it wasn't such
a taboo," Insp Cliff said.

Statistics suggested that did not appear to have worked, he said.
"Some of the culture hasn't matured at the same pace of legislative
changes."

Representatives from Public Health South, police, Dunedin City Council
and the University of Otago injury prevention unit had met this week
to discuss how to combat the issue of alcohol abuse in Dunedin.

"There is no quick fix. We know that. Our aim is to reduce
alcohol-related harm and that's a big issue," Insp Cliff said.

"What we do know for sure is that it has to a joint initiative by
different agencies and it has to have the support of the people."

Drug squad head Detective Sergeant Kevin Anderson said alcohol was the
most abused substance in Dunedin, followed by cannabis. The
availability of both in Dunedin was the main problem.

"It's here because society accepts it. People turn a blind eye because
people have always got themselves rotten drunk and cannabis is
considered okay by people now - even MPs say it's not harmful," he
said.

"This is not just a police problem. It's a problem for the whole
community."

An Otago Daily Times reporter and photographer spent five hours in
central Dunedin last Saturday night.

It was relatively quiet but smashed glass and pools of vomit adorned
the footpath.

When questioned, a group of 15-year-olds admitted they had been
drinking vodka that evening and they intended to "hang out" on the
streets for the rest of the evening.

One boy, however, proudly stated he did not like drinking alcohol.
Instead, he just stuck to cannabis.

It was just after 11pm and one of boys was struggling to stand
unaided. This was better than the previous night, his friends
explained, when he vomited five times in an alley off George St and
was unable to look after himself at all.

Spending the night this way was "fun", they said. "You get to meet up
with people and it's more fun if you're wasted."

The bravado quickly disappeared when a camera was produced. Their
parents were unaware of where they were. One was supposed to be at the
movies, another at a friend's house and one girl said her parents
thought she was tucked up in her bed.

Three members of another group, aged in their early 20s, making their
way along George St said they were in the army and the other three
were students.

They said they had no intention of "milling around on the streets"
and, in fact expressed pleasure at seeing a higher police presence.

However, one of the group, who appeared more intoxicated than the
rest, admitted he had been arrested on two previous occasions - both
while drunk - and could offer "no guarantees" he would not come to the
attention that night.

Meanwhile, a group of youths had just come to the attention of a
McDonald's Family Restaurant security officer. They were play-fighting
outside the restaurant and blocking the path of people wanting to
pass. One man was shoved and abused as he tried to make his through
the group.

The McDonald's security officer said he saw the affect of binge
drinking and drug abuse every weekend.

"People are who normally decent change so much with a few brews under
their belt. Young kids who usually respect their parents and wouldn't
dare talk back to police when they're sober, change dramatically after
drinking," he said.

"I've watched signs being stolen, people being assaulted for no
reason, cars being broken into and fights breaking out for petty reasons.

"It's not just young people. It's anyone who drinks to
excess."

Drunkenness and disorder are also a concern to Matt Hayward, who
recently bought KC's bar.

"The days of binge drinking and drinking till you drop is not the way
of the future and bar owners need to recognise that," he said.

For a small percentage who find themselves dependent on the substance
of their choice, detoxification services play an important role.

A co-ordinator for the services said while he saw people at their
worst, when they were dependent on drugs or alcohol and believing
their life was worthless, his job was to help them through the the
initial stages of dealing with their addiction

"It's great. It's like watching a withered flower that looked like it
had no hope of revival. But then someone waters it and it begins to
come to life.

"There is no better feeling than watching people learn to deal with
their addictions."

DCC liquor licensing co-ordinator Kevin Mechen said the council was
actively addressing the situation of binge drinking.

He warned it would not be an easy process.

"Something needs to be done. People are getting hurt and property is
getting damaged every weekend. It's not everyone but it's everyone who
ends up affected so that makes it a community issue."