By Adam Jacobson
Despite another incident at a central Auckland bar involving a gun - the third within a month - a residents' group say people are not dissuaded about going out in the CBD.
There have been three incidents involving guns in Auckland's CBD in the past month, but there's no indication they are related. (file image) Photo: Unsplash / Thant Zin Oo
Auckland City Centre Residents' Group (CCRG) deputy chairperson Adam Parkinson said the spate of gun-related incidents was not particularly worrying, there were ongoing concerns around general gun violence and the "perceptions of safety" on streets in the city centre.
"People are starting to feel like there is a random quality to [these incidents] and that people can bring a gun into [the CBD]. If something goes wrong, that is definitely concerning to residents, no doubt about it," Parkinson said.
Police received reports of someone with a firearm at a bar on Sale Street shortly before midnight on Friday.
No shots were fired or people injured.
The weapon was taken off the person by staff and they were arrested for unlawful possession.
Earlier last week a 25-year-old man was arrested following a firearms incident at Dr Rudi's Rooftop bar on Auckland's Viaduct.
In November a 48-year-old man was also arrested for brandishing a firearm at the Calendar Girls stripclub on Karangahape Rd.
There is no indication the three incidents are linked.
Parkinson said there was a growing perception among the CBD's residents that there was "a lot less community policing going on in the city centre", and blamed it on the police's decision to move the Auckland Central Police Station from the corner of Vincent and Cook streets to College Hill in 2019.
Police said in a statement they "dispute the assumption that violence has increased" due to the relocation of the station.
Parkinson said: "People living in the city centre have a wide and robust tolerance to what goes on, but it is our home and like anyone else, we expect to be able to go out onto our streets in safety."
Deidre Steyn, who moved to Auckland from South Africa in 2006, said she was not concerned and that the recent incidents were just "outliers".
"I think this is just someone who took things too far, but I don't all of a sudden feel like people are carrying guns in New Zealand. It's not going to make me feel unsafe at all."
'Alarming trend'
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the increase of the firearms, particularly handguns, being brought into establishments in the CBD was an "alarming trend."
"Carrying an illegal weapon in a public place and using it in the context of a fight, that's not the sort of Auckland we want to be living in or believe that's the type of city we should be," Goff said.
It was fortunate that in these cases no-one was injured by gunfire, Goff said, but warned that it was only a matter of time before one of the weapons were used with "fatal or damaging consequences".
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the increase of handguns being brought into establishments in the CBD was an "alarming trend." Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Goff commended the police on making a number of arrests connected to the incidents.
"We have to tackle this problem on all fronts, take a tough line, but also act proactively to prevent young people from getting drawn into a gang lifestyle," he said.
Auckland City Central Police area commander inspector Gary Davey said police had "observed an increase in alcohol-fuelled violence and disorder" over recent months.
"This trend is incredibly disappointing for police and some of the behaviour we are seeing is unacceptable. Police are already working with our partners, including bar owners, to ensure processes are in place to move people out of venues efficiently come closing time," Davey said in a statement.
He said officers had increased their presence recently "to ensure everyone's safety," however, gun violence was not an issue that police could "solely arrest" their way out of.
"We have, and will continue to, urge people to act responsibly around alcohol and to look after their mates."
