Three women sexually assaulted in Dunedin

Three women have reported separate sexual assaults in Dunedin over the weekend, prompting a police safety warning.

In each case the women were returning to their flats in the student quarter when they were assaulted. One of the alleged assaults involved people from the same flat, while another took place in the student quarter. Those assaults were not linked, police said.

Inspector Wil Black said during each Orientation week for Otago University students there is a spike in sexual offences, and he urged residents to be vigilant.

Meanwhile, an experienced officer received a slashed calf after a bottle was thrown on a student street early on Saturday morning. The bottled smashed on the road before slicing his calf muscle.

The officer is recovering from the ordeal, Black said.

Police will review CCTV footage to try and catch the culprit. Officers are also investigating an incident where a couch was set alight early on Saturday morning. ‘‘Unfortunately for them they were caught on CCTV footage.’’

Overall student behaviour during Orientation Week was praiseworthy, he said.

The week-long activity ‘‘reached its crescendo on Friday and Saturday night’’. No students were arrested.

He credited the work of the tertiary institution, particularly the Proctor, the Otago University Student Association and officers patrolling the area.

The Otago University Students Association (OUSA) offered drug testing from a car park in the heart of Dunedin’s student quarter for the first time this year, while the recent release of the 2018 Discipline Report showed widespread improvement.