Thames-Coromandel Deputy Mayor Terry Walker has attributed holiday hotspot troubles to “rich little s***s”.

Walker said Pāuanui was of particular concern over the holiday period, with a series of incidents occurring which had locals calling for night patrols.

Police also raised concerns, with Waikato East area commander Inspector Mike Henwood disappointed regarding the cavalier attitude some parents and caregivers seemed to take when it came to supplying alcohol to their underage children, just because it was New Year’s Eve.

“It is not uncommon for police to arrest a youth or locate a heavily intoxicated young person, and when we ring the parents, they are a couple hours’ drive away, or sometimes even had no idea where their child was,” Henwood said.

While police only provided a written statement on behaviour in nearby Whangamatā, Walker said Pāuanui appeared to be specifically targeted by vandals at the same time every year, causing concern among the settlement’s residents.

“It’s a real problem over summer, the rich little s***s go around wrecking the place; there seems to be a regular pattern of vandalism in Pāuanui.”

A resident reported a youth being a "menace" late on Sunday, knocking on windows and sporting a "very potty mouth".

Police said they could not find any reports in relation to incidents reported by Pāuanui residents.

Walker said public toilets had been destroyed in the town by vandals during the 2023/24 holiday period and he was not surprised to hear about reported incidents in recent days.

The latest incident was reported on Sunday, when a youth was allegedly targeted by a group of youths with a BB gun.

It was followed by reports a youth was wandering around the settlement knocking on windows late on Sunday evening.

The community library box was targeted multiple times, with the owner deciding to close it at nights after books were ripped up and scattered along the street.

The Pāuanui Beach Aerodrome had been targeted multiple times in recent days, with damage in various locations along the facility’s boundary railings.

Pāuanui builder Ron Smit said he had fixed a number of sections of railing, only to return a couple of days later to find other sections had been targeted.

“There is a significant amount of damage; it is becoming quite expensive.”

A street sign was reportedly cut down on December 18.

Smit said he had lived in the area for five years and problems over the holiday period were getting “worse”.

“This is the worst summer. There are a whole heap of road signs that have been cut off with a hacksaw – it’s mindless, dumb vandalism.

“I think the parents and the kids are responsible. The parents just let them go loose and the kids go on a rampage.

“The locals are wanting a night patrol organised. It’s just entitled little s***s who come around and wreck everything.”

A community library box in the town was also targeted multiple times.

The owner said it was just one or two rare occurrences of “kids being naughty” at first, but someone then ripped up nearly all the books and scattered the pages down their street.

They had since decided to close the facility at nights.

Walker said it was not locals, but “visitors” who were “wrecking the infrastructure”.

“They smashed toilets up last summer, they went on a spate around the area, and it concerns the locals every year [when it comes to] how to address it.”

Thames-Coromandel Deputy Mayor Terry Walker.

Walker said there had been talk of upgrading CCTV facilities in the town.

In Whangamatā, Walker said a “safe zone” was set up at Whangamatā Area School on December 31 by partnering agencies to attend to intoxicated persons.

“It is a really good option; it went really well.”

Henwood said the town was busy with more than 2000 teenagers congregating in one group leading up to midnight on December 31.

The number of arrests made and liquor-ban fines issued was down slightly on previous years, he said.

Figures were not provided, but historical numbers from midday on December 31, 2023 until midday on January 1, 2024, showed 31 breaches of liquor-ban offences.

Police warned partygoers about celebrating New Year's Eve safely after bottles were thrown at them in Williamson Park during 2021-22 celebrations.

In Whangamatā, over the 2022-23 New Year period there were 79 breaches of the liquor ban, while in 2021-22 the number climbed to 95. In 2020-21 there were 66 breaches, and 39 in 2019-20.

Custodial records for the recent 2023-24 New Year showed police locked up 27 people in Whangamatā, compared to 29 people in 2022-23, 21 in 2021-22, 25 in 2020-21 and 26 in 2019-20.

Police said Whangamatā crowds were generally well-behaved on December 31 this year, with arrests made for fighting and disorderly behaviour.

In 2023-24, extra police staff were deployed to the Coromandel area, utilising staff from the wider Waikato district and support from the Counties Manukau Public Safety Unit.

A Thames-Coromandel District Council report showed for the whole 12 days of the peak summer season (December 25, 2023 to January 5, 2024), there were 55 arrests in Whangamatā, as well as 251 infringements and 152 warnings issued with regard to liquor-ban breaches.

The report also stated during the 12 days, a daily “partners briefing” was held at the Whangamatā police station, during which Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Hato Hone St John, the medical centre and council staff met with police to discuss day/night activities and strategies.

- Waikato Herald