New Zealand Police are once again fielding complaints of inspiring riots.

The same kind of accusation seems to be taking place almost every time the poor buggers intervene anywhere nowadays – the people who the police are there to bring under control invariably maintain that there was no issue until the authorities showed up; these youthful idiots will always claim that their party was under control and would never have become out of control, had the boys in blue just left them be…

From my perspective, it’s clear to see that once police or other authority figures encroach on an otherwise uncontrolled youth binge-drinking session partakers of said event are inclined to become deliberately stupid, intentionally difficult; pointlessly recalcitrant and senselessly truculent.

…From the partygoer’s perspective, the fact that their once intimate gathering now has over two hundred guests, of whom the identities of most are unknown, is incidental; the fact that the majority of those guests have spilled out of the property and are now filling the surrounding street is just what happens – it’s how it goes…

I can fully understand the youthful position on the matter: ‘It’s our party, we’re not hurting anybody, so why don’t you just leave us alone?’

…Ideally a party is restricted to a house or, in many cases, that house’s backyard. It’s when a private party starts taking up public space that the issues begin; it’s when that private party starts interfering with the lives of public citizens that the issues become compounded; it’s when public areas are left awash with litter and debris, when property is desecrated and vandalised that the issues require some level of legal intervention.

In a recent occurrence of the aforementioned, uncontrolled, revelry I chuckled at the ringleader’s hackneyed and oh-so-predictable comments: “We were havin’ a great time, there was no problem ‘til the cops showed up…”. I then watched as the television camera flicked through the rest of the rental property. Every window was smashed, most every wall had holes kicked in it, with every remaining portion of intact wall now covered in graffiti.

As the story ended and the face of the aggrieved teen drifted away, I recall thought/mumbling: “Interesting … If that pack of reprobates weren’t out of control until the cops turned up, they sure as hell did a lot of damage after the cops turned up.”

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Col Pa Bull

Photography by Dick Eade