Crimeline
30 May 2024
The downtown winter party season may not have even begun yet, but Police are already dealing with their usual fair share of late-night assaults and altercations.
Just before 2am on Sunday 26 May a 28-year-old Australian woman allegedly began a verbal argument with a group of people she didn’t know on Camp Street, hitting an unknown male in the face. Community and Youth Constable Amanda Shute says the woman was held back by her male associate, then three people from the group approached the pair and they began trading punches before the fight dispersed. Two Australian tourists have been issued with formal written warnings for disorderly behaviour and fighting.
Not long before that at 12.30am on 26 May a 20-year-old Queenstown male was on Church Street when a verbal altercation began with another male, Shute says. “He has then allegedly assaulted two other males, punching them in the head.” One of the victims required medical treatment. A 20-year-old Queenstown man faced charges of assault with intent to injure and injuring with intent to injure in the Queenstown District Court on Monday 27 May.
A 21-year-old Queenstown male also appeared in court that day facing two charges of common assault and one of injuring with intent to injure, after allegedly punching two people in the head and pushing a third into a window just before 2am on Saturday 25 May. The young man was on Ballarat Street when he allegedly had a verbal disagreement with another group of males, Shute says.
Police were called by a member of the public after a vehicle was observed driving into a crash barrier on Frankton Road on Friday 24 May at 3.30pm. The vehicle continued driving and was allegedly weaving in its lane before it was stopped by Police, Shute says. The 24-year-old local male driver was breath tested and blew 400mcgs/l breath and was issued with an Infringement Offence Notice. He was also charged with operating a vehicle carelessly and is due to appear in the Queenstown District Court on 24 June.
A 30-year-old Auckland male tourist was also stopped in Frankton and breath tested at 8.40pm on 24 May. The driver elected to have a blood specimen taken and Police are awaiting these results.
Victim Support Queenstown is very keen to find more volunteers in the region, with numbers having dropped to just 12 at present for all of Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago, team leader Central Otago/Wakatipu Ashleigh Lindley says. This decrease is a national trend as cost-of-living pressures mean some volunteers have to opt out, she says. “I think with cost-of-living pressures people are less able to give their time so freely.”
Volunteers currently offer anything from a minimum of six hours per week to several days a week and any contribution is greatly appreciated, she says.
“We’re in the process of recruiting at the moment. There’s no age limit – 18 and over, and no prerequisites. People just have to go through a Police check.”
While it’s an independent charity, Victim Support works closely with the Police offering a gentle arm of support and an ear to listen, whether it’s supporting friends and family coping with loss due to suicide, victims of all kinds of crime, or survivors in the wake of traumatic events like road crashes.
“It’s about making people feel safe and helping them to cope in the aftermath of a crime or traumatic event,” Lindley says.
To apply to volunteer see: www.victimsupport.org.nz/volunteer
