A confrontation with 'feral youths” in which knives were brandished in the Rotorua CBD had its sequel at a local council meeting yesterday.

Hotelier Reg Hennessey, whose Hennessey's bar is central to a complaint, emailed retailers and friends this month about a staff member had been 'taunted and threatened”.

Reg says the staff member, a Filipino, 'feels less safe here in Rotorua than on the streets back home”.

It appears the youths gang-hopped other areas in the CBD on Monday, December 9, night, with a follow-up on Tuesday night.

'These youths attacked the Pizzeria owner next-door before moving on to us.

'And the tourists dining there could not believe that no Police arrived in the 20 minutes after they were called.

'…The incident at Hennessey's was witnessed by many tourists, some who promptly came up and paid their tab and left in disgust.”

Reg then says on Tuesday, the youths apparently taunted the pizza shop owner by standing outside and yelling at him that ‘the cops do nothing' and letting him know they are not backing off.

The incident, referred to as anti-social behaviour, was referred to at a full meeting of the Rotorua Lakes Council.

This time last year, a joint operation to rid the CBD of unsavoury incidences led to a partnership between the council, which added footpath security staff, and the police.

The matter was raised in question time by councillor Peter Bentley and later Raj Kumar.

Rotorua Police, who attended last week's meeting for an update on behaviour in the CBD, confirmed incidents had taken place and one offender was arrested.

Efforts to try to eradicate the behaviour remained collaborative, but the security patrols had limited powers, councillors were told.

But security staff were armed with security cameras and were able to provide ‘intel' to the police, Senior Sergeant Karl Konlechner says.

'Displaced youths are coming into town and creating their own entertainment,” says Karl.

'It's not that we would view it as entertainment, but in talking to these youths, that's how they see it.”

Talking about the issue raised by Raj about young people in general, Karl says a large youth aid section was available.

Raj asked whether the burden lay with the council or the police to keep control in a certain section of the CBD.

'The council can only police the law, we can only pass a policy, the police are only actively involved in arresting and doing other things,” Raj says.

'So where does the responsibility lie and why is that only one sector is aggrieved more than anybody else?”

Karl says it's a shared responsibility.

'We talk regularly about the powers the city patrollers have and the powers the police have so where arrest action is needed it certainly falls within the powers of the police,” Karl says, adding the guardians and street patrollers increased their coverage.

He says he cannot answer why there was reporting from one area and not others.

Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick asked whether the current issue is worse this year than last.

'The statistics we keep – there're no major trends – not majorly worse or majorly better than previous years,” says Karl.

Steve asked whether in such hotspots, businesses could organise their own security?

'Will councillors in a year's time be addressing the same issue or is it time to strategic evaluation of the strategy itself?” questioned Reynold Macpherson.

To a question from councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, who says she's frustrated at what she had heard, about zero tolerance the police say a lot is happening behind the scenes.

In a reference to the arrest this week, Karl Konlechner says that 'years ago arrests were carte blanche. But they introduced the youths to the criminal justice system. Alternative solutions are sought, and arrests are at the other end of it”.