"Happy safe and sober New Year!"

Tauranga Police are encouraging people celebrating the New Year to enjoy themselves, but to be sensible, look after your mates and make sure everyone gets home safely.

Police will be out in force over the summer, enforcing Tauranga liquor ban areas and keeping our communities safe, especially across holiday hotspots.

The following areas are alcohol-free areas:
• Tauranga city centre
• Mount Maunganui, including the main beach but excluding Pilot Bay
• Memorial Park
• Merivale shops and surrounding streets, including Surrey Grove Reserve and Merivale Community Centre
• Waitaha Reserve, including Welcome Bay Hall
• Arataki Park
• Greerton Village, including Liston Park
• Topaz Drive Reserve and part of Domain Road and Gravatt Road
• Brookfield Shopping Centre and surrounding streets.
• All beaches, reserves and public places on the seaward side of Papamoa Beach Road, Taylor Road, Motiti Road and Karewa Parade.
• Waiariki Street, Mount Maunganui.

If you feel unsafe or have concerns about dangerous, illegal or suspicious behaviour, call Police on 111, for non-urgent concerns you can call 105 or visit https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 and report the incident online.

Liquor bans prohibit alcohol being consumed or brought into the street or public places like beaches or parks.

It does not include alcohol being transported directly to a restaurant or to a private home.

Anyone who breaches a liquor ban is liable for a fine of up to $250 and may also be arrested.

Taking care of our teenagers at New Year's Eve

It is an offence to supply a minor - a person of 17 years of age, or younger - with alcohol.

If you are the parent or legal guardian of a minor, and you wish to supply them with alcohol, it must be done in a safe and reasonable manner.  Failure to do so is punishable by a fine of up to $2000.

Police encourage those responsible for teenagers, particularly if they are drinking, to ensure any alcohol provided is given and consumed in a safe home environment, and to not assume their teen would make good decisions around alcohol.

If they’re going out ensure they have eaten and consumed water, have a fully charged cell phone, a safe place to meet friends and a plan to get home safely.

"We all have a responsibility to ensure our friends and whanau are safe this summer, so keep an eye out and report any concerns you have," says a police spokesperson.

If you feel unsafe or have concerns about dangerous, illegal or suspicious behaviour, call Police on 111, for non-urgent concerns you can call 105 or visit https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 and report the incident online.

"During New Year we often see a peak in people driving on the roads, so be patient, keep calm, drive sober and if you are feeling tired – pull over."

More information on liquor bans across Tauranga can be found here

"Any time, every day, we are here to help - Ao te pō, pō te ao, kei konei mātou hei āwhina."