The skate ramps at Arataki Park. Photo / George Novak
A teenage girl is facing months of recovery after suffering a head injury in a brutal bashing at a Mount Maunganui park.
The teenager was unable to finish the rest of her school year or work her part-time job.
Her father, whom we have not named to avoid identifying his daughter, is calling for action after a series of attacks in the Arataki area.
Police have set up a temporary community base at the former Imbibe site next to Bayfair Shopping Centre after hundreds of people attended a community meeting in Arataki this month.
Bayfair has also increased the number of security guards by more than 20 per cent.
A community working group called Make Arataki Safe Again has also been set up.
The teenager's father said his 16-year-old daughter and her friend snuck out of their family home to the skate park at about 10pm.
He said his daughter and her friend were "just sitting there doing nothing" when a group of girls and one boy approached them.
The group thought one of the girls was filming them and took her phone, he said.
"Our daughter walked away and then turned around to see her friend getting thumped from behind.
"She ran over to help her friend and they turned on her. Eight of them beat the s*** out of her.
"They got her to the ground and just kicked the s*** out of her."
His daughter could not remember what happened next or how she got to the Caltex petrol station across the road, he said.
A petrol station employee phoned the police who brought her home.
The father said his daughter suffered a "nasty" concussion and faced nine to 12 months of recovery.
"She hasn't been able to work since then. She can't watch TV for more than half an hour to an hour.
"She'll come to the mall with us but she wouldn't last more than half an hour because the bright lights affect her.
"If it had gone on for a minute or two longer she would be very lucky to avoid the hospital."
He said his daughter was also unable to return to school to finish her exams.
"She can't concentrate. She's on a long road to recovery."
"The pair were approached by a group of youths who assaulted them after demanding they hand over their cellphones."
A police spokesman said no arrests have been made and the investigation continues.
Bayfair Shopping Centre manager Steve Ellingford said he had noticed a rise in reports since lockdown.
"It's extremely frustrating for a lot of people in the community because of the fact it seems to be consistent and ongoing."
Ellingford said people wanted to blame Bayfair and the police and he had received a number of "offensive" emails pointing the finger at the shopping centre.
"People are asking 'what are we doing', 'what are we doing?' But you have to work within the law. You can't just throw people out... You can't manhandle people.
"We're not the law. We can't pick them up and lock them up."
Ellingford said it was Bayfair's responsibility to provide a safe environment for its customers and retailers and the centre had increased its security guards by more than 20 per cent.
But he said putting a guard on every day on every single door was "just not realistic".
Beyond asking someone to leave, issuing a trespass order and calling the police, he said there was not much more that could be done.
"Some of these kids will be trespassed in the morning and they'll come back in the afternoon and they'll come back at night. They'll do it three times a day."
Security guards also had to be able to find someone in order to trespass them, he said.
"We have an 11-hectare site. A quiet day for Bayfair would be 1400 people, and on a busy day coming into Christmas we're getting up to 24,000 and 25,000 people."
Ellingford said establishing a temporary community base at Bayfair was going to be "fantastic" to help keep the centre and surrounding areas including the skate park, Baywave and bus stops, safe.
Ellingford said the centre continued to invest in security measures including on-site CCTV including 70-plus digital cameras monitoring each entry and exit and car parks.
"Our security team do a great job looking out for our shoppers and staff and have increased their patrols of all areas of the centre during this busy time of year.
"We need to acknowledge there is no one fix. This is very much a community issue and requires a collaborative approach to help ensure everyone feels safe."
Senior constable Dennis Bidois said police were aware of a number of youth-related disorder incidents in the Arataki area recently.
"We are aware of who is involved in much of this offending and are working hard to hold those responsible to account.
"However, it is important to note that reports on social media do not always paint an accurate picture of what is happening on the ground."
Western Bay of Plenty area commander Inspector Clifford Paxton said police will be operating out of the new temporary community base for six weeks from December 23.
"Officers will be working from the base in order to respond quickly to nearby incidents during this extremely busy time of year," Paxton said.
"It's important to note that recent issues cannot be solved by police alone – we are working alongside the community and our partners, including Bayfair, to find a solution and help ensure everyone feels safe.
"We have a longstanding relationship with Bayfair and its security team who do a great job looking out for the local community. The hub is an extension of that partnership and are grateful to Bayfair for their assistance."
Paxton said it was crucial people reported incidents to the police.
"The quicker incidents are reported to us, the faster and more appropriately we can respond."
Takiri Butler, who is part of the community working group Make Arataki Safe Again, said there had been an increase in incidents in the last few months.
"Enough is enough. The community has had enough."
Butler believed problems were being caused by a group of youths coming in from outside the area.
"Ninety per cent of them are not our kids. We can deal with our kids that are getting caught up in these kinds of things but how do we control the ones coming in from outside?"
The Make Arataki Safe Again community group was formed and a meeting was held earlier this month that she said more than 400 people attended.
"That speaks volumes in itself. Police and Bayfair security are doing all they can but there was a community frustration of feeling helpless so we thought let's pull us all together."
Butler said many people at the meeting put their hands up to help and the group was planning to meet this week at the former Imbibe site to put together a plan.
"Ultimately the goal is to make Arataki safe again."
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