Underage teens hit roof to get a drink in Taupo

Taupo teenagers are resorting to climbing on to bar roofs to enter licensed premises illegally.

The revelation comes as bars and nightclubs around the town say they are being presented with "stacks" of false IDs each weekend, as under-18s try their luck at getting in.

Like bar managers, police are fed up with the growing number of underage teens trying to sneak into bars.

Finn Maccuhals Irish Bar manager Lorraine Lamb says one weekend the pub intercepted eight false identifications.

Mrs Lamb says they have had to lock back doors and put a cover over an alleyway to stop teenagers climbing on to the roof to enter the bar unseen.

She described the conduct as "unbelievable".

The manager has even hired a couple of 18-year-olds to work on busy nights helping bar and door staff spot those who are underage.

She said it was annoying that 16- and 17-year-olds were constantly trying to get into the bar, yet the bar was fined if the youngsters were caught.

Bars can be fined up to $2000 if underage teens are found on their premises and up to $10,000 if they are caught serving a minor.

Mrs Lamb said the false IDs they usually saw were borrowed passports or driver's licences and cards that had the birth dates altered on them.

Hard-to-detect fake IDs were also being presented.

A 17-year-old, who turns 18 in two weeks, told the Rotorua Daily Post he often got into local bars.

On occasions he had simply walked straight past the bouncer or had used a friend's ID.

"It's not too hard to do," he said.

Many of his friends did the same thing.

Eighteen-year-old Denby Strange said many of his friends had scratched the last digit off their licence to change their birth date so they could get into bars.

He said it "sucked" that underage teens were getting into bars when he was there legally.

Sergeant James McGrogan of Taupo police said there had been an increase in false IDs being presented in the town's bars over the past few weeks.

Security staff were being vigilant, but needed to keep checking to make sure identification did belong to the patron.

Mr McGrogan suggested that if door staff wanted to check if an ID was false, they should quickly ask the person presenting it what year they were born or what their star sign was.

He warned any young people thinking of using false identification that they were likely to be caught and prosecuted and their ID would be seized.

Mr McGrogan said people using false identification were committing an offence under the Sale of Liquor Act and could receive a permanent criminal record if convicted.


Dealing with dodgy IDs and teenagers' tall tales

Murray Mack believes he has heard every excuse in the book when it comes to underage drinkers trying to get into pubs.

Over the past five years, the Taupo man has worked on the door at a number of the town's drinking establishments, including Finn Maccuhals Irish Pub, the Holy Cow and The Tongue and Groove Bar, and has seen his share of fake identity documents and heard improbable stories.

Police and bar staff are struggling with an influx of underage teenagers trying to gain entry into bars and nightclubs, but Mr Mack believes the solution is to thoroughly check IDs.

He said underage teens normally "tried on" one of three methods to get into bars:

* Presenting a fake ID.

* Presenting the card of a friend aged 18 or older.

* Trying their luck with their real IDs, hoping bar staff would not check the date properly.

Mr Mack said bouncers needed not only to look at the date, but check the photo presented as well.

"Some people do look alike, so if you're not sure you ask them to sign their signature."

He said it was often hard to tell if people were over 18, so if someone looked under 25 it was best to ask.

The oldest person he had asked for ID turned out to be 45.

He said bar staff also had to check the age of customers.

The bar should be checked periodically for underage drinkers.

Mr Mack believes that since the lowering of the drinking age, the increased number of immature people drinking could cause further problems.

Also, he warned there were many "creepy people" who could lead young girls into trouble.

Bars needed to adopt a preventive attitude, rather than waiting for something to happen and then kicking people out. "You need to kick them out before they do something really bad."

- DAILY POST