Otago students drinking less and causing fewer issues over O-Week

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Dunedin News

From reporter Hamish McNeilly:

Less broken glass, a handful of arrests and a solitary couch fire: police have praised Otago students for improved behaviour over Orientation Week.

Sergeant Steve Jones wants to give "credit where credit is due" after thousands of students who returned for Flo Week (the flatting Orientation Week), and the following Orientation Week, showing a marked improvement in behaviour, he said.

The change came after some in the community who always gave students a "bad rap" over any anti-social behaviour, such as broken glass.

"It is definitely getting better," Jones said.

The anti-social element was a very small percentage of the community itself, and ‘’certainly a far cry from what we’ve seen in previous years,’’ he said.

Some of those arrested in the student quarter were not students, and came from outside the city.

That was the case in one of the more high profile incidents, which involved 15 Christchurch men who burst into a Leith St Flat and assaulted four flat mates.

Meanwhile, a proactive approach to bottle stores in the student quarter resulted in more canned products sold compared to glass bottles, which led to less glass on the street, Jones said.

And not all students were drinking, he said.

"We are seeing a new cohort of young people making more conscious and better educated decisions around alcohol, and we have a sober curious community coming through, who are going for zero alcohol options," Jones said.

There were only two reported case of gross intoxication in the student quarter over that period, with one of those a drug overdose.

What was also proving to be beneficial in reducing harm was students registering their parties on the Good One Party Register, which came with police offering advice to organisers.

It was difficult to determine if this was a long-term trend, given Covid had caused restrictions on large gatherings, however Jones was optimistic.

"I think we are following a trajectory which has been influenced by the partnerships."

That included emergency services, Otago University, and the students’ association working on student safety but still allowing "students to be students", he said.