Marlborough area commander Inspector Simon Feltham said police had caught several residents flouting the alert-level four restrictions in place across the nation.
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
"There's been people looking to go fishing and also people looking to move outside their normal area of residence," Felton said.
"We've taken an educational approach to breaches ... and the responses have been good. People change behaviours."
Police were able to arrest or hand out infringements to people caught breaking lockdown rules, although these powers had not been used in Marlborough, Feltham said.
"We're pleased with the level of compliance so far."
Feltham said there had been talk on social media about an anti-lockdown protest in Blenheim's Seymour Square, but nothing eventuated. A similar protest had been held outside the Nelson Police Station on Wednesday morning.
It dispersed quickly and no-one was arrested.
Marlborough emergency services manager Brian Paton told Marlborough District Council on Thursday there had been 56 reports of lockdown breaches at the top the south.
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said on Thursday that a large number of complaints had been received about gatherings, which were prohibited under alert level four, and these were being referred to police.
Marlborough prevention manager Senior Sergeant Peter Payne said he understood no-one had been caught flouting the lockdown rules in Blenheim since noon on Wednesday.
Marlborough community constable Russ Smith was one of several put on "reassurance patrols", around Blenheim, created to both give people confidence and check they were sticking to the Government's lockdown restrictions.
"We're checking on supermarkets and chemist shops and ... by in large there haven't been too many issues," he said.
The council put out a statement on Wednesday reminding residents to refrain from unessential travel, which the Government defined as travel that did not involve shopping for groceries, accessing healthcare, or exercising locally.
The statement said the council would not be checking who was travelling along Queen Charlotte Drive, in the Marlborough Sounds, under alert level four. It set up a checkpoint along the drive after a severe flood event damaged a large amount of Marlborugh Sounds roads.
"Any roads that are closed or still being assessed should not be used in the interests of ensuring the safety of everyone. Anyone who chooses to ignore the road closures in place does so at their own risk and liability," it said.
"Another rain event could result in further failures, which could also be triggered by a vehicle attempting to cross a vulnerable section of the road."
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.
