When our police are assaulted, we are all the losers!

I am sickened by the latest attacks by angry and very drunken party-goers or boy racers. The excuse will be given by the criminals in Dargaville that their nine year old was pepper-sprayed. I do not believe that the police deliberately did that. If the adults were so drunk that they brought about the circumstances whereby the kid was affected then then must take the blame for the resulting events.

When our police are put at risk by the drunken idiocy that follows when people over imbibe, then we are all in danger and we haven’t even seen what may happen again on New Year’s Eve. That we now have a ‘culture’ that brings about these attacks is deplorable. Yes, we have always had a few idiots taking things too far, but attacks on the police are becoming common place.

The law allows for quite serious consequences, but still we see these attacks. Is there anything else behind these worrying events? I don’t think so. We have always had deprivation and poverty and some may say that the gap between rich and poor is growing, but that does not excuse this criminal behaviour.

Some of the party goers at Dargaville say that ‘this should not have happened.’ I say, they should have thought of that when they allowed the party to get out of control. No one makes you drink to excess. If you know you have a propensity to get out of control when you drink, then you must also know that society generally does not support your actions and lack of thought.

Throw the book at them! To the police---I don’t envy you your job when you are called to out of control parties. Reasoning with the rabble won’t do much good. Maybe you just have to take more of the boys and girls in blue to prevent getting hurt, but I don’t think we have the numbers to allow that. You do a great job trying to keep the rest of us safe, but you need some help, in the form of witnesses taking responsibility for the actions of those around them. By doing nothing, they are also culpable.