Facebook reveals drink drive checkpoints
Facebook pages revealing the locations of local police drink driving checkpoints have been shut down.
Police say Rotorua residents visiting these sorts of pages could have been given false information _ maybe by police themselves.
The pages, which were called Rotorua Police Stop Locations and BOP Police Stop Locations, had been running for only a short while but the Rotorua-based page gained more than 300 likes and the Bay of Plenty page had more than 1000.
Posts on the page by the creators stated the pages were designed to inform people of drink driving checkpoints and also speed camera locations.
Both pages were shut down over the weekend but Inspector Ed Van Den Broek, of the Rotorua police, said the pages were disappointing.
"Unfortunately, despite all the advertising, crashes and apprehensions, drink driving is still a major problem in the Rotorua area, just as it is across New Zealand. In fact, the Bay of Plenty has the second-highest number of drink driving apprehensions in New Zealand which is not a record that we should be proud of,'' he said.
"The challenge for our community is to work together along side police to reduce this problem. If you are stopped you can expect to be breath-tested, if you are drink driving, you can expect to be caught and held accountable.
"It is, therefore, disappointing that there are some people in our community that will advertise locations of alcohol checkpoints in order for people to avoid apprehension.''
Mr Van Den Broek said he wondered if those who were posting on those pages knew police were trying to protect their friends and family. Before the pages were shut down he said the police would monitor the site and might post fictitious locations of alcohol checkpoints "to raise the paranoia for people stupid enough to drink and drive''.
People had also posted on the pages disagreeing with what people were aiming to do.
Comments include: "Here's a tip ... police are out everyone night looking for you losers ... So instead of drinking and then driving (and possibly killing you or someone else) ... Get a taxi! Kia tupato!'' and "booze bus stops catch drunk drivers, drunk drivers kill and injure innocent motorists ... I'll leave the rest to you to figure out ...''
