More than 60 per cent of New Zealanders think public drunkenness should be a crime, according to an MSN NZ poll.
The poll was published on www.msn.co.nz yesterday after New Zealand police arrested 369 people for alcohol-related offences and 291 motorists for drink driving in the weekend's blitz on alcohol and violence.
More than 1100 police hit the streets from 6pm on Friday until 6pm on Sunday.
They found 47 licensing breaches, 139 liquor infringement notices were issued and 115 assaults were recorded.
The trans-Tasman initiative, Operation Unite, deployed 9715 officers, made 2785 arrests, recorded 567 assaults and recorded 1281 licensing breaches in total across Australia and New Zealand.
Police were not pleased with the results.
"Success, for police, would be having a weekend free from public drunkenness, from young people being arrested for breaching liquor bans, from public-place violence fuelled by alcohol and from family violence incidents where alcohol is a factor," New Zealand Police Assistant Commissioner Viv Rickard said in a media statement.
"Sadly, that wasn't the case this weekend," he said.
Operation Unite was the first time Kiwi and Australian police have joined together for an operation like this.
It was an attempt to combat both countries' culture of binge drinking in public places, the ensuing violence, and to challenge the drinking public to take greater responsibility for their conduct.
Rickard said alcohol-fuelled violence was "one of the most pressing social challenges of our time", which costs us "millions of dollars each year and shatters many young lives".
The annual cost of crime due to harmful alcohol and drug use is estimated at $1.1 billion. Harmful alcohol use cost New Zealand an estimated $5.3 billion in 2005-06, New Zealand Police said in a media statement.
Police added that they estimated they spent $306 million or 32 percent of the police budget on alcohol- and drug-related offending and associated issues in 2005-06. On alcohol only, this equalled $172.2 million, 18 percent of the police budget.
"The 'drink to get drunk' culture cannot continue, or become the norm, and that is why we are taking decisive action," Rickard said.
Do Kiwis have a 'drink to get drunk' culture? Have your say below.
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