--- title: "Invercargill The RAID Squad Initiative" type: "pdf" year: "1998" canonical: "/projects/906" --- # A Report on THE R.A.J.D SQUAD INITIATIVE # Table of Contents - [A Report on THE R.A.J.D SQUAD INITIATIVE](#a-report-on-the-rajd-squad-initiative) - [An example of an effective Problem Oriented Policing (POP) initiative to reduce the frequency of offences occurring in and around Licenced Premises](#an-example-of-an-effective-problem-oriented-policing-pop-initiative-to-reduce-the-frequency-of-offences-occurring-in-and-around-licenced-premises) - [ABSTRACT](#abstract) - [THE SCANNING PHASE](#the-scanning-phase) - [The effect was a high number of offences occuring;](#the-effect-was-a-high-number-of-offences-occuring) - [a) At LP's. For example:](#a-at-lps-for-example) - [b) Occuring in the community as intoxicated persons left LP's. For example:](#b-occuring-in-the-community-as-intoxicated-persons-left-lps-for-example) - [THE ANALYSIS PHASE](#the-analysis-phase) - [THE RESPONSE PHASE](#the-response-phase) - [IDENTIFICATION CARD PACKAGE - 1997](#identification-card-package-1997) - [HOTEL SECURITY PACKAGE - 1996](#hotel-security-package-1996) - [BUILDING A SAFER DRINKING ENVIRONMENT PACKAGE - 1996](#building-a-safer-drinking-environment-package-1996) - [SCHOOL SEMINAR PACKAGE - 1997](#school-seminar-package-1997) - [THE ASSESSMENT PHASE](#the-assessment-phase) - [IDENTIFICATION CARD PACKAGE](#identification-card-package) - [HOTEL TRESPASS PACKAGE](#hotel-trespass-package) - [BUILDING A SAFER DRINKING ENVIRONMENT PACKAGE](#building-a-safer-drinking-environment-package) - [SCHOOL SEMINARS](#school-seminars) - [CONCLUSION](#conclusion) ## An example of an effective Problem Oriented Policing (POP) initiative to reduce the frequency of offences occurring in and around Licenced Premises Author: Constable Jordan Edwards June 1998 # ABSTRACT The high number of offences occuring in and around licenced premises' (LP's) was impacting on the Invercargill Police and the Southland community in general. It was hypothesised that this problem stemmed from (a) managers of LP's failing to adhere to the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 and therefore, failing to provide a safe drinking environment, and (b) a lack of police resources coupled with a purely -reactive' approach being taken by the police. The result was a high number of complaints to the Police from assault victims, owners of damaged property, managers of LP's, parents and the Invercargill City Council. Offences occuring in and around LP's were impacting on the whole community in a variety of ways and the Police felt a strong obligation to create effective responses to the existing problem. A number of possible response alternatives were considered in relation to the problem of alcohol-induced offending in and around the LP's. With no additional monetary funding and limited manpower, it was important that implemented programmes would utilise existing resources and could be maintained from the initiation. It was decided that an existing Police Team known as the R.A.I.D Squad would assume the responsibility of managing the 'Problem'. During routine visits to LP's, the R.A.I.D Squad became aware of six core problems; i) Underage Drinking, ii) Unprofessional Conduct by Doormen, iii) Trespass Issues, iv) Unsafe Drinking Environments, v) Inappropriate Conduct by Patrons at Rural LP's, and vi) Alcohol Related Offending by Youth. In response to these six problems the R.A.I.D Squad adopted a proactive response in the form of six individual packages; i) Identification Card Package, iiJHotel Security, iii)Hotel Trespass Package, iv)Building Safer Drinking Environment Package, v)Transport Security Package, vi)School Seminar Package. An evaluation of the R.A.I.D Squad initiatives revealed that all six packages have been individually effective and the combination of packages has resulted in benefits to the community as a whole. Managers and bar staff now have clear and functional guidelines relating to their rights and responsibilities, the police now receive fewer requests for assistance in relation to incidences in and around LP's, patrons are now provided with safer drinking environments and the general public are now at less risk of personal harm and property damage. SOUTHLAND Southland is the most southern province of New Zealand. Southland covers an area of 36,727 square kilometer's. Included in this areas are a large number of small rural townships. Southland's population stands a 97,053 people. The primary exports are agriculture, fishing, aluminum production and related industries. Invercargill is the principle centre and largest city in the province. It has a population of 53,208 people and a strong Scottish heritage. Reported Crime in Southland for the period 1997 was 12,412 offences. The overall clearance rate was 45 percent. Traffic Offences and Infringements totaled 17,213 for the same period. Southland's Police service consists of 176 Sworn members and 39 Non-sworn members. Southland has 349 liquor licences issued under the provisions of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 and these all require Policing in one form or another. There are a number of authorities involved in the running or overseeing of Licensed Premises in Southland and Invercargill. The Hospitality Association of New Zealand (HANZ) has a large membership made up of licensees and is responsible for looking after its members interests as they relate to the operation of their premises, assisting them when necessary. The Invercargill Licensing Trust (I.L.T.) is a body set up by a statute to run and control all hotels and taverns within the Invercargill City boundary. It is a large employer and holds a liquor trading monopoly within the City boundary. As with any liquor licensing area, Police work closely with other agencies. These include: - - Southland Public Health Service - Road Safety Southland - Invercargill City Council - Southland District Council - Gore District Council # THE SCANNING PHASE In 1993, the Invercargill Police began focusing on a significant problem both they and the community were experiencing. That is, the high number of offences occuring in and around Licenced Premises (LP's). The problem was perceived to be twofold: 1. Managers of LP's were failing to adhere to the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 and therefore, failing to provide a 'safe drinking environment'. The Sale of Liquor Act 1989 states that it is the responsibility of the licensee and manager of a LP's to... 'establish a reasonable system of control over the sale and supply of liquor to the public with the aim of contributing to the reduction of liquor abuse, so far as can be achieved by legislative means' [section 4(1) Sale of Liquor Act 1989] 2. The high number of complaints and offences meant that Police resources were stretched and therefore Police were sometimes unable to react. In the past, the Police response had been purely Yeactive' and had made no impact on reducing the frequency of this type of offending. # The effect was a high number of offences occuring; ## a) At LP's. For example: - Patrons being served to the point of excessive intoxication - Minors being served alcohol on LP's - Assaults on patrons by doormen There had been a significant number of complaints where it was alleged that doormen had assaulted patrons. Although many of the allegations zuere false (the investigation of assault complaints tied up valuable Police resources and often resulted in the accused doormen pleading "self defence" and the matter going no further), some were justified and related to unprofessional conduct by doormen. - Assaults on patrons by other patrons - Assaults on staff by patrons ## b) Occuring in the community as intoxicated persons left LP's. For example: - Drunk driving - Assaults - Vomiting and urinating on the street - Property damage - Domestic disputes - Fighting This resulted in a high number of complaints to the Police from assault victims, owners of damaged property, managers of LP's, parents, and the Invercargill City Council. Given the impact of these problems on the whole community the Police considered the development of a resolution to these problems to be a priority. # THE ANALYSIS PHASE The 'problem' was impacting on the whole community in the following ways: - People often felt unsafe in and around the city - Property damage resulting in financial loss - Alcohol related injuries were stretching health services/resources. Staff at the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Southland Hospital in Invercargill report that nearly every admission between midnight Thursday to Sunday morning was related to the consumption of alcohol. - Alcohol induced domestic violence and the impact on families - Police safety compromised and Police resources stretched - Risk of injury to staff working at LP's As stated earlier, the Police were responding in a *reactive' manner rather than a 'proactive' or 'preventative' manner. This approach seemed to have little or no impact on the frequency of the problem and the community in general was "fed up". In protest the Invercargill City Council and one hundred residents living close to a particular LP's formed a petition in response to the high level of property damage and abuse they were experiencing every week. # THE RESPONSE PHASE A number of possible response alternatives were considered in relation to the problem of alcohol-induced offending in and around LP's. For example, using the powers of different statutes, heavy-handed enforcement, and specific police training. With no additional monetary funding and limited manpower, it was important that implementation would utilise existing resources and programmes could be maintained from initiation. After much consideration it was decided that an existing Police Team known as the R.A.I.D (Removal of Alcohol Impaired Drivers) Squad would assume the responsibility of managing the problem. The R.A.I.D Squad is a team consisting of one Sergeant and two Constables and was formed in September 1993 with the purpose of administering Compulsory Breath Testing of vehicle drivers. It was decided that the R.A.I.D Squad would work closely with managers of local LP's to ensure that managers were adhering to the requirements of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 . Prior to the R.A.I.D Squad initiative, management did not know who to contact within the Invercargill Police when seeking advice about the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 - they now had access to this information via the R.A.I.D Squad. Additionally, there was now a group of Police who could regularly visit LP's to ensure they were being run in accordance with the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 resulting in a greater degree of accountability. During routine visits to LP's, the R.A.I.D Squad became aware of six core problems. The following is an account of these problems and the packages developed to address them. Managers were not obliged to adopt the individual packages, but all did with time, as they came to hear of the advantages of the packages. # IDENTIFICATION CARD PACKAGE - 1997 Underage drinking on LP's was often associated with a failure to request age identification or failure to detect forged documents(see Appendix A). Police found that management and staff of LP's' were accepting drivers licences, birth certificates, student identification cards, and pub cards, of which the vast majority were false, forged or belonged to others. As the R.A.I.D Squad were unsure of the extent of the problem, they ran an 'operation' on Invercargill's only local nightclub. Within two hours they picked up 14 forged or swapped documents. At the same time, the Squad was receiving an average of four to six documents a week confiscated at LP's. Some of the forgeries were almost unidentifiable and could not be distinguished by the 'untrained eye'. The R.A.I.D Squad investigated the feasibility of implementing verified age/photographic identification with the aim of: - Preventing minors entering LP's. - Preventing minors from producing forged/altered identification - Having a set standard of proof required from patrons at all LP's Managers of LP's' supported the initiative and the result was a verified tamperproof form of identification considered to be the only acceptable means of identification at all LP's in Southland(Appendix B). The card was only available to those aged 18 years and over and was produced by a local computer company. An extensive advertising campaign involving sponsored newspaper advertisements, air time on local radio stations and the local television channel, was carried out(see Appendix C, D \& E). A lead time of two months was introduced to allow patrons time to obtain the cards. # HOTEL SECURITY PACKAGE - 1996 Most of the hotels/taverns/nightclubs in Invercargill employ doormen/security. Most of these individuals were employed for their ability to handle themselves in violent situations. That is, they tended to be strong, muscular males who had training in self defence or martial arts. Unfortunately there had been many occasions where doormen had acted in an unprofessional manner by using excessive force to evict patrons from the premises. Thus, resulting in complaints of assault and injury. The R.A.I.D Squad addressed this problem by holding meetings with doormen from all LP's'. This provided both parties with the chance to identify and discuss problems faced by doormen and for the R.A.I.D Squad to educate doormen on professional and legal issues pertinent to their role. Education was a key element of this package with the members of the R.A.I.D Squad focusing in particular on the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 (i.e. aims of the Act in respect to intoxication, minors, licensee/manager responsibilities and doormen's responsibilities), the Trespass Act 1980, Self Defence (Section 48 of the Crimes Act 1961) and Assault (Section 9 of the Summary Offences Act 1981). A series of scenarios where presented as short role plays. R.A.I.D Squad members acting as patrons presented a variety of problems and selected security staff were asked to role play how they would deal with the problem. The R.A.I.D Squad assisted the staff to adopt appropriate and professional ways of managing a variety of commonly occuring "real-life" situations. HOTEL TRESPASS PACKAGE - 1994 When removing patrons from the premises, bar staff and the Police must adhere to the relevant provisions of the Trespass Act 1980. The objective of evicting certain patrons is to remove trouble makers (create a safe drinking environment) and deter other patrons from causing trouble. Invercargill has a Licencing Trust (ILT) within the city boundary. The Trust management have made a ruling in conjunction with the Police R.A.I.D Squad, that where a member of staff is assaulted or the disorder is such as to cause a major disturbance inside the premises (i.e. damaging property and fighting) the offender will be evicted and banned from that premises and all other ILT premises for a period of two years. If the ILT General Manager considers an offence to be serious enough, he/she will also include all ILT Liquor Suppliers in the prohibition. Additionally, under the provisions of section 4 of the Trespass Act 1980 , a manager of a LP can trespass a patron for two years if they believe that individual will cause further problems at the LP. Tiotel Bluey' was a package developed by the R.A.I.D Squad in relation to the issue of patron misconduct in an attempt to prevent and deter future episodes of misconduct. The key elements of this package are: - The education of LPs' management and staff on the provisions of the Trespass Act 1980. For example, when and how to implement the Act. - Educating staff on the importance of immediately advising management of problems in order to prevent problems escalating to the point where it is necessary to impose a two year total ILT ban. - Educating management and staff on the roles of the Police with respect to trespass This package was in the form of written material and distributed by the R.A.I.D Squad to all LP's. It was fundamental that 'Hotel Bluey' was implemented in a consistent manner. That is, a person receiving a ban would not be allowed entry to any ILT premises. The R.A.I.D Squad assisted with this process by circulating documentation, complete with a photograph of the banned individual, to all ILT LP's(see Appendix F). This information was available to staff only and all managers (on behalf of staff) signed a confidentiality statement to ensure the privacy of the information and photographs. # BUILDING A SAFER DRINKING ENVIRONMENT PACKAGE - 1996 The focus of this package was to encourage managers to consider and adopt effective means of providing a safer drinking environment for patrons. This package was created by the Alcohol Licencing Advisory Council (ALAC) of New Zealand and designed to increase awareness of Licensee/manager/staff responsibilities and the consequences of failing to comply with the Sale of. Liquor Act 1989. This is a national initiative adopted, and implemented by the R.A.I.D Squad. The package covers and addresses issues pertinent to all liquor licence holders whether they be a hotel, tavern, restaurant, or other establishment. The objectives of the package were to: - Assist in developing a partnership between Police and those in the liquor industry - Provide clear guidelines on licensee/manager duties and responsibilities - Identify and encourage positive host responsibility through I.serving food with alcohol 2.providing entertainment 3.meeting customer safety needs 4.monitoring intoxication levels of patrons 5.providing transport options for patrons (reduce incidents of drink-driving) 6.employment of professional security staff 7.appropriate use of the Police - Assist in the identification of minors - Provide advice on ways of keeping their premises attractive to patrons The package was delivered to all LP's in the form of a three hour seminar by the R.A.I.D Squadfsee Appendix G). TRANSPORT SECURITY PACKAGE - 1996 This package was developed in response to problems associated with organised bus trips to a number of LP's located in rural Southland (commonly referred to as the 'Around the Mountain' drinking trip). People taking part in these trips take advantage of having a sober driver and tend to drink large quantities of alcohol. This has resulted in many incidents of alcohol-related offending. The R.A.I.D Squad encouraged licencees/managers to make regular contact with each other providing information about approaching groups, the behaviour of the group in general and "problem patrons" and any inappropriate behaviour or offending that had occurred. For example, one manager noticed that after a bus had left his premises there was a large number of glasses missing. He telephoned ahead to the next stop and had the manager of that premises meet the bus. The passengers were advised that unless the glasses were returned immediately, the Police would be called and the bus ordered back to Invercargill. Duly all glasses were recovered. In addition, managers had an informal agreement that if the bus visited one premises and he/she considered the passengers to be too intoxicated or they had caused problems, he/she would ring ahead and at the next stop, the bus would be met and the passengers told they would not be permitted entry to the premises. This was usually met with verbal abuse from passengers as no one had responsibility for looking after the group. It was previously considered to be the bus drivers responsibility to ensure appropriate conduct of passengers. The R.A.I.D. Squad did not share this view and so developed a Code of Conduct Policy\{see Appendix H) stating that one of the passengers had to claim responsibility for the conduct of other passengers (usually friends and associates) thus, placing the responsibility of these trips on those who organised them (see Appendix H 8s I). # SCHOOL SEMINAR PACKAGE - 1997 Over the past two years, the Police have noticed an increase in young people aged 15-20 years "cruising" (walking or in vehicles) around city streets, drinking large quantities of alcohol, gate crashing parties, gathering in groups at local takeaway venues, and compromising the safety of others by causing disorder and disturbance problems. Many arrests resulted. The R.A.I.D. Squad adopted an 'enforcement' role with minors consuming liquor in public places. This initially took the form of a 'soft' approach whereby young persons (under 20 years of age) found in possession of liquor for consumption in a public place were asked to tip the alcohol out. They were then warned. It quickly became apparent that this approach was ineffective. Many of those who were warned were later found in possession of alcohol. It was then decided that the R.A.I.D. Squad would return the alcohol to the young person's parent's and bring the matter to their attention, with the idea that parents would then take responsibility and action. This approach was also ineffective as it was often discovered that it was the parent/s who had given the alcohol to the young person. At that point, the R.A.I.D Squad decided to adopt a third strategy known as "Zero Tolerance"(see Appendix K). From time to time it has been necessary to adopt or run an operation to raise awareness of the "Zero Tolerance" policy(see Appendix K). Those minors caught consuming or in possession of alcohol in a public place were prosecuted and the alcohol confiscated. Of the three approaches this was the most effective in deterring minors from possessing and consuming alcohol in public places. However, this approach (like the other two) was more 'reactive' than 'proactive' and the problem of minors committing alcohol-related offences continued to be a real concern for Police and the community in general. Those (minors) being arrested tended to be first offenders' and students. Most were intoxicated, arrogant and abusive towards the Police. Discussions with a number of these persons revealed that they were generally unaware of laws governing the consumption of alcohol, or the obligations and rights of the Police involved. On several occasions the problem of underage drinking at parties escalated to the point where Police were required to use riot gear and Police Dogs, Following a particularly serious incident (a large brawl at MacDonalds Family Restaurant) and a resulting Police Complaints Authority (PCA) investigation the R.A.I.D Squad decided to develop and implement a school package aimed to educate young people on the perils of underage drinking. The Invercargill District Commander (Superintendent N Cook) wrote to the Principals of all Secondary Schools, outlining the problems and seeking their assistance by allowing the R.A.I.D Squad to conduct one hour seminars with $5^{\text {th }}$, $6^{\text {th }}$ and $7^{\text {th }}$ form students. The package was initially rejected by some Principals who did not accept there was a problem. With one school in particular, consent to implement the package was only given after the Principal received pressure from other teachers at the school. Seminars focused on issues associated with: - Minors consuming alcohol in public places - Minors possessing alcohol in public places (including vehicles) - Consequences of being caught - Problems associated with teenage parties (i.e. lack of adult supervision and host responsibility, see Appendix J) - The role of the Police (i.e. what to expect if the Police arrive) - Street disorder (see Appendix K) - The rights of the young people and of the Police - Information about the PCA Seminars were designed to be interesting and relatively informal in order to encourage young people to ask questions and seek advice. An important consideration was the selection of the Police staff who were to be involved in presenting the package. Due to the amount of time and energy required to administer this package to all Secondary schools, it was necessary to involve other Police staff in this undertaking. Staff selected to take part were required to have first hand knowledge of the incidents and legislation involved and a positive attitude towards the problem and young people in general. The District Commander was also involved in administering this package. # THE ASSESSMENT PHASE It is important to acknowledge that assessment of the effectiveness of the R.A.I.D Squad initiatives is not based on quantitative complaint and offence statistics. This is due to the way in which statistics are recorded and collated by the Invercargill Police Department and the fact that the workload of the R.A.I.D Squad coupled with limited staff resources has not allowed time for the recording of baseline and intervention data. Unfortunately, available statistics were recorded in a way that failed to identify when alcohol was a fundamental contributing factor in offending. Therefore, the following evaluations are based on: 1. the reports of R.A.I.D Squad members and other Police Officers 2. feedback received from members of the community, patrons, managers and staff of LP's', school Principals, teachers and students. The reports of R.A.I.D Squad members in particular, are considered to be highly accurate and valid, given that they are the people who consistently deal with the problems outlined earlier in this report. As stated at the beginning of this report, the high number of offences occurring in and around LP's was considered to reflect two salient problems: - a) managers of LP's failing to adhere to the requirements of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 and b) the purely 'reactive' approach adopted by the Police in the past. An existing team of Police known as the R.A.I.D Squad was given the responsibility of reducing the frequency of offences occuring in and around LP's. The R.A.I.D Squad decided to take a "proactive' approach to meeting their goal. The following is a summary of the outcomes associated with each of the six packages developed and implemented by the R.A.I.D Squad. # IDENTIFICATION CARD PACKAGE This initiative was enthusiastically supported by the managers and staff of most LPs. Doormen have reported that the identification cards have made their job easier, in that patrons now expected to be asked to produce the identification card in order to gain entry. Little judgment on behalf of doormen was required. . - The result was a significant decline in the number of minors gaining access to LPs. - Reports from patrons indicated that it was "cool" to have the card and that it was useful to have in other situations where identification was required (i.e. purchasing cigarettes). To-date, there are over 1400 cards in circulation. - Since implementing the card system fewer young people have been prosecuted in relation to 'underage drinking'. It needs to be noted that initially a number of managers of LP's had reservations about the identification cards. Many felt concerned that other LP's would not adopt the scheme and therefore, they may lose patrons to other LP's with less stringent entrance criteria. Eventually however, all LP's agreed to adopt this initiative after considering the benefits of this scheme. HOTEL SECURITY PACKAGE The implementation of this package has resulted in: - Doorman and bar staff adopting a more professional approach to patrons - A reduction in the number of complaints about doormen using inappropriate/excessive force on patrons - Reduction in requests for Police assistance at LP's - A safer drinking environment (ie patrons feeling safer in LP's - less perceived risk from doormen and other patrons). # HOTEL TRESPASS PACKAGE The implementation of this particular package has had the following impact: - Reduction in the incidents of violent offences occuring in LP's - Reduction in number of requests for Police assistance - Reduction in witness summonses (Police and other witnesses) to court hearings - Patrons are aware of the Hotel Bluey' system and this deters misconduct in LP's # BUILDING A SAFER DRINKING ENVIRONMENT PACKAGE Reported results of this package include: - A positive reduction in the number of intoxicated persons on LP's - Fewer minors gaining access to LP's and being apprehended for this offence - A better understanding of food requirements and host responsibility issues in general - Fewer reported incidences of unprofessional conduct by doormen - Patrons being attracted to LP's which practice good host responsibility TRANSPORT SECURITY PACKAGE Positive outcomes following the implementation of this package include: - The development of a 'Code of Conduct' for passengers on bus trips has placed the responsibility of passenger conduct on those who have organised the trip. - Less Drink Driving and related traffic incidents - Better understanding between licencee's and bus companies - Reduction in incidents of disorder, theft and damage committed by passengers. All parties involved report safer bus trips, that are correctly promoted and run, for the enjoyment of customers and the benefit of bus companies and licensees. # SCHOOL SEMINARS Reports received from school principals, teachers and students suggest that this package has been well received and beneficial in a variety of ways: - Students report an increased awareness and understanding of the personal and legal consequences associated with underage drinking - A decline in the frequency of alcohol-related offending by young people - A decline in the number of alcohol-related arrests of young people - A significant decline in the quantity of alcohol seized from young people - Fewer requests for Police intervention at teenage parties and school balls (see Appendix L) - More favourable attitudes to Police following school visits - A decline in the amount of dangerous material being littered on city streets - A decline in complaints of property damage made by inner city shop owners The R.A.I.D Squad continues to provide this package in schools following requests (from all schools) that the Police continue to provide this service anually(see Appendix K). # CONCLUSION Whilst the six different packages have been designed to meet the needs of varying groups within the community, the combination of the packages has resulted in benefits to the community as a whole. To summarise: - The proactive approach to policing has resulted in (a) a closer more effective relationship with managers and staff of LP's, (b) a decline in frequency of many alcohol-related complaints and offences and thus, (c) a better use of Police resources. - Management accepting more responsibility in accordance with the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 has resulted in the provision of a safer drinking environment and a decline in the frequency of offences occuring in and around LP's. Everyone has benefited from the R.A.I.D Squad initiative in some way. Managers and staff now have clear and functional guidelines relating to their rights and responsibilities, the Police now receive less requests for assistance in relation to incidents in and around LP's and are therefore, better able to fulfil their other roles and responsibilities, patrons are now provided with safer drinking environments and the general public are now at less at risk of personal harm and property damage.