As temperatures ramp up and more people come to the Eastern Bay to enjoy summer fun, the region’s police are gearing up to make sure everyone stays safe.

An enhanced number of staff will be out on the streets from this Saturday to deter crime, disorder or alcohol-fuelled situations.

Eastern Bay of Plenty prevention manager Senior Sergeant Cam MacKinnon said police would be present at the Kawerau Christmas in the Park event on Saturday.

Though most attendees of the popular event would be looking to have a good time, Mr MacKinnon said police staff would be on deck.

They will also be at Whakatāne’s Christmas parade the following weekend, on December 13, and the subsequent council-organised A Little Christmas at Mitchell Park.

“Police will be involved in the parade, but we’ll also be there policing the large crowd,” Mr MacKinnon said.

The inaugural Ātea Block Party event is also expected to draw a crowd at the old Wally Sutherland building on December 20, and police will have some extra staff on hand.

Christmas Eve, with its late-night shopping, is an historically busy time in Whakatāne, Mr MacKinnon said.

“Lots of people shopping, lots of people at the bars and pubs. We’ll be ensuring we’ve got a policing presence on the 24th.”

The Rhythm and Vines festival in Gisborne creates an interesting situation for police, where Eastern Bay staff must monitor the huge amount of through traffic on December 29, then again on the return trip on New Year’s Day.

Police and community groups team up on January 1 to provide fatigue stops along the main route.

Mr MacKinnon said it went without saying that New Year’s Eve would be busy, but police expected to see some extra activity on December 30, too.

“We’ll have earlies, lates and nights, road policing and a public order team available to us, should we have any trouble in town.

“We’re hoping for fine weather and for a nice crowd that enjoys itself without any major problems.”

Whakatāne’s summer events season – from the police perspective – wraps up on the second weekend of the year with the Whakatāne January Touch Tournament.

“It’s generally a good crowd, but we look to police the alcohol side of events like that quite stringently to avoid any major incidents.”