Attack victim wanted police to lock up relative

She was left shaken after a terrifying argument - and Cilla Te Ua Wiri says she is not happy with the police response.

Ms Te Ua Wiri called the police to her home at around 11pm on a Sunday night last month after a discussion with her nephew about the television turned ugly.

"I talked to him nicely, and I said, 'Boy you're not allowed to have the TV on at all hours of the night,' and things just got out of hand from there."

During the argument, her relative picked up various weapons and threatened to assault her and her sister.

At one point, the two had to barricade themselves inside their home. "He was banging on the door saying 'I'm going to get you' so we had to lean up against the door. If he had got in here, we would have been had it - he's a powerful, strong guy."

Police were called to the scene and took him to the station, but Ms Te Ua Wiri is unhappy they let him go and still considers him a potential threat.

"The police called me up and said they couldn't hold him; I said, 'What do you mean? Our lives have been threatened'.

"That really freaked us out - I said, 'What is the point of ringing if you're going to let him loose ... he's going to come back again'.

"Where's the safety at? They pick up drunks and take them back to the cell, and all I wanted was one night, so I could go down to the courthouse in the morning."

Her nephew did not return, but Ms Te Ua Wiri says she would like systems in place to ensure such incidents do not happen again to others.

"I'm not trying to drag down the police. I just think there needs to be more places where people like this can be put and cared for."

She believes her nephew - who had been living with her for two months before the incident - has mental health issues. Now she says she's had enough.

"I took out a trespass order that night - he needs to be put into care."