Cops to get tough on boy racers
Police are cracking down on boy racers in central Christchurch after a perceived increase in activity, leading one petrol station to hire security guards.
Mobil Bealey Ave owner John Arbuckle said the situation was out of control and needed more police enforcement – a sentiment echoed by moteliers on the street.
At its worst, he claimed 50 carloads of people crammed the forecourt of the petrol station, on the corner of Bealey Ave and Barbadoes St – some smoking, drinking and yelling abuse.
‘‘A lot of them are really good, but like every group there’s an element who drink and get loud, obnoxious and disruptive,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not a rave. It’s a place of business and people live around it. It’s pretty out of control.’’
Canterbury road policing operations manager Senior Sergeant Kelly Larsen said that although there was no statistical evidence, police felt there may have been an increase in boy racer activity in the central city.
‘‘Over the next six to eight weeks police will be deploying road policing staff to the central city, specifically within the four avenues, with the view to target boy racer behaviour,’’ she said.
Bealey Ave is one of four central Christchurch avenues associated with car enthusiasts, known colloquially as boy racers, despite a 2010 council bylaw banning cruising.
Arbuckle said problems associated with boy racers had become worse this year, to the point Mobil brought in security guards last month to do patrols on Friday and Saturday nights.
After 10pm on Friday and Saturday it was like a ‘‘switch had flipped’’. Arbuckle was happy for car enthusiasts to stop in and make purchases at the service station, but said issues arose when they lingered on in groups.
A lack of nearby public facilities meant the sole toilet in the petrol station was often subject to long queues. And, instead of waiting, it was not uncommon for the men to urinate on the back fence and car park.
The 50 carloads was a one-off. However, Arbuckle said there were often large gatherings which posed a safety issue for staff and were intimidating for other customers.
‘‘We’re taking steps to manage the problem as best we can, but it’s up to the authorities to step up and do their job.’’
Constable Owen King, a member of the Antisocial Road User (ASR) team, said he had met Arbuckle and offered practical advice around installing ‘‘no parking’’ signs and barriers to prevent people lingering.
As a result of the meeting, ASR members were also maintaining an increased presence at the service station. King said Arbuckle had been happy with the arrangement, and a car was recently impounded from the forecourt.
Car enthusiasts Phil Blake, 21, Nathan Barrow, 23, and Sean McGoverne, 20, were at the Mobil on Thursday night. They described their passion for cars, and said they ensured they were road legal.
Blake said only a minority of car enthusiasts who ‘‘cruise the aves’’, which he put at about 30 per cent, ‘‘do it just to get on the piss’’.
‘‘There’s always bad people out there that’ll just cause havoc for everyone else’’, he said. But most did it ‘‘just to have a good time’’ and catch up with friends.
However, moteliers in the area were ‘‘fed up’’ with the noise of revving engines and squealing tyres, which one Bealey Ave business owner said affected business and was loud enough to prevent people sleeping. The woman, who did not want to be named, had collected signatures from nearly 30 accommodation providers, most from Bealey Ave, concerned about the ‘‘apparent inaction of Christchurch police’’.
The letter of concern was presented to police on Thursday.
The motelier said she was reluctant to lease street front units on Friday and Saturday nights because of the noise. Guests had complained because of it, and left bad reviews.
‘‘I think the police do a great job, and I’m sure they’re under-resourced, but there’s nothing we can do about it. That can only come from them,’’ she said.
Canterbury was one of only two police districts in the country to have an ASR team, comprised of six officers, who focused on boy racer issues.
However, Larsen said the ability of police to respond was a matter of prioritisation.
‘‘If there is an incident occurring where there is a threat to life or property, police resources are going to be diverted to that, because we don’t want people to die.’’