This will come as no surprise to anyone, alcohol is the cause of most occurrences we attend.

Intoxication was prevalent in three of the five family harm matters over the last few weeks. If you are in a relationship where the other party drinks heavily then turns into Jake the Muss or Bad Jelly the Witch here is some advice thatmight help.

1. When you see the early signs of intoxication let them know you will be going somewhere else to stay for the night if they continue drinking.
2. Do not get confrontational or into an argument.
3. Before it gets to this level you need to leave and stay with a friend for the night.
4. Confront the person the following day when they are sober.
5. Here is a great link to help with that conversation

Another alcohol fuelled incident was a robbery after an unknown group of youths turned up uninvited to a party. A young chap was attacked by the group who punched him in the face multiple times and when he fell to the ground he was kicked in the head causing him to lose consciousness.

One of the males then stomped on his chest before stealing his ponamu neckless. Police have subsequently made at least one arrest in this case.

It is sometimes hard to judge when to approach people and when not to, my advice is always to give the boys and girls in blue a call and we will come and do the dirty for you – we have some great items in our toolbox for these types of thugs!

A driver was suspended for excess demerit points but their lack of respect for any laws saw them caught driving twice the following week. Police have impounded two of their vehicles and they will now be facing an extended period of disqualification.

Restricted and learner driver licenses are legislated for a reason. This is a high-risk time for youths driving and all too often we see the devastating results when things go wrong.

This week police located a youth driving on a restricted licence carrying a 15 and 17 year old who were drinking alcohol, this is a recipe for disaster. Know where your children are going and who they are taking in their vehicle.

There have been a number of search and rescue operations over the last couple of weeks, thankfully all have ended well. Once again, a special thanks to our local search and rescue members who volunteer endless hours for the community.

With the increase in traffic over the coming months please drive defensively and be prepared for the unexpected e.g. vehicles crossing the centre line or coming around the corner on the wrong side of the road, along with frustrated drivers overtaking slow vehicles in unsafe areas.

If you are venturing into the mountains over the summer period, either hunting, exploring or tramping, please be prepared with the necessary equipment.

One thing you should have is a personal locater beacon (PLB), There are a number of places these can be hired from.

Have a great weekend