Teens raise roofs - to get into bars

Taupo teens are resorting to climbing on to bar roofs to enter the premises illegally.

The revelation comes as bars and nightclubs around the town are being presented with what they say are "stacks" of false IDs each weekend, as teenagers try their luck at getting in before they turn 18 - the legal drinking age.

Like bar managers, police are fed up with the number of teens too young to drink legally who are trying to sneak into bars.

Finn Maccuhal's Irish Bar manager Lorraine Lamb is frustrated by the number of underage teenagers trying to get into her bar. One weekend the pub intercepted eight false identifications.

It has 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".

Mrs Lamb has hired a couple of 18-year-olds to work on the busier nights to help 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 fined up to $10,000 if caught serving a minor.

Mrs Lamb said the false IDs they were normally seeing were borrowed passports or driver licences and cards that had birth dates altered on them.

Hard to spot fake IDs were also being presented.

A 17-year-old, who turns 18 in two weeks, told the Daily Post he had 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 had a similar story to tell.

He 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 the 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 the identification did belong to the patron.

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

He warned if anyone was thinking about using false identification the likelihood was they would be caught, their ID seized and they would face prosecution before the district court.

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