The enforcement of a total liquor ban in the resort town of Whangamata is excessive, according to a regional councillor and former police officer.
About 100 people were arrested and hundreds of others warned in the resort town for breaching the ban on New Year's Eve.
Simon Friar, a former detective who now represents Whangamata on the regional council, says he knows of a couple who were sitting quietly on the beach when arrested for having wine in their campervan.
Mr Friar says it is not appropriate to treat locals or visitors that way.
"The exercise of discretion within the police seems to have diminished in recent years. Zero-tolerance is okay to a certain degree for certain problems - but what's going on at the moment is, in my view, over the top."
However, local businessman and Thames-Coromandel district councillor Jan Bartley says he has not heard a single concern about the ban or its policing.
Police say every arrest made is vetted by at least three senior officers before charges are laid.
Area Commander for Eastern Waikato Glen Dunbier says there have been no riots and very few serious crashes or assaults since the zero-tolerance approach began.
