One-way door trial went well
Christchurch Police say that a trial during Easter of bar operators stopping new patrons from entering in the early morning was a success and hope an agreement can be reached to permanently operate the one-way door scheme.
The City Council is working with the Police, the Hospitality Association of New Zealand and Community and Public Health on the idea, one of a number of projects being developed as part of the Safer Christchurch strategy.
If the one-way door system is permanently introduced, it would be with the agreement of all parties and would likely come into operation at 3am. The belief is that it will make the central city streets safer in the early mornings.
Over Easter, about 60 bars in Christchurch had special licenses approved by the Council and Police on the basis that operators would not allow patrons in after 1am. People inside were told that, if they left, they would not be able to get into another bar.
Police Inspector Gary Knowles says some patrons were a little confused by the Easter trial but everything fell into place very well.
"Having talked to front-line officers that were working on those nights, I've found out that there was a definite decrease in crime compared to normal," he says.
"One of the major reasons was that people weren't hanging around in town as they had no bars that they could go to. They just went home, which is exactly what we wanted to happen.
"The licenses definitely had a quieting effect on the city at a time when a lot of crime would be committed."
Paul Webster, operations manager for New Zealand Hospitality Ltd (NZHL), says the Easter trial worked relatively well, although there are a few issues that he would like to see sorted out. NZHL runs several central city bars.
"One problem we had at Easter was that the one-way door policy was not advertised well enough; our door staff copped a lot of flak from people who didn't know about. If we had to start using the 3am licenses, it would have to be advertised very well.
"Another problem we had with the 1am lockout was that it was perhaps a little early. In terms of the 3am license, yes, we're for it as long as the few issues that exist are sorted out.
"Something else we would like them to think about is, where would hospitality workers and shift workers go for a drink after work?"
A formal review of the Easter licenses is now being done and a report on it is due soon.
Paul Webster
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