Tonight on Sunday, your chance to punish the offenders. Will it work? You decide. You have the right to instruct a lawyer... She's nicked. Do you understand those rights? Now, you be the judge,... There must be some punishment there. ...and you choose the punishment. You must do eight to 10 hours of community service. It was wrong for me to retaliate. Yes. Are we going soft on crime? A nation of binge drinkers. Are you threatening me? Are you a butch girl or what? A lethal cocktail of beer and brain damage. Tell me why he shouldn't be sent to jail today? Probably my biggest fear is just dying. The craziest, most dangerous... CROWD SCREAMS ...bike race in the world. I don't want to get hurt. I don't want to be in hospital here. Captions by Anne Langford. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2013 Kia ora. I am Miriama Kamo. Thieves nicked our property 120,000 times last year. And how often have you thought you'd like to dish out some justice of your own to the offender? Well, now you can. Citizens, you and I, are being given the chance to clean up the neighbourhood, to be judge. But will we go too hard or too soft on crime? Ian Sinclair explains. It's a typical cop call-out. This time it's The Warehouse in Christchurch. You have the right to refrain from making any statement and to remain silent. You have the right to consult or instruct a lawyer, and to do so without delay. Out back of the store, three children see their mother under arrest. And anything that you say can also be recorded and used as evidence. You understand those rights? OK. We've hidden her face to protect her children. The offence ` shoplifting. We'll try to get through this as quick as we can because the young one is getting a bit on edge too. It's understandable. Shoplifting costs the country over $700 million a year, clogging our court system. But what if there was a different way of dealing with it? Shoplifting, theft, petty crime ` it's everywhere, and if it affects you personally, it's particularly irritating. Normally, of course, the offender finishes up in front of a judge for processing, but now, in a revolutionary new experiment, you have the chance to dispense the justice. You can be the judge. Introducing the people's court where police hand over minor offenders to the community. There's a nurse, a retired company executive and an army veteran-turned-manager about to dispense justice to 22-year-old Gemma Nichol. The charge is of common assault. It's called the community justice panel. And the penalty is six months' imprisonment or a $4000 fine ` could be if you appeared in the court. > Gemma has only avoided a normal court because she admitted her guilt. The argument became physical and the defendant ended up grabbing the victim by the throat. And why did she do that? Well, it was all over the washing-up. First of all, I got an abusive phone call. I wasn't at home at the time, and it was from my flatmate. And she seemed upset about the dishes. They weren't my dishes, so we got into a heated argument, and it escalated, and then... she got violent. It was wrong for me to retaliate. Yes. But I-I didn't have any other choice. And that's still not acceptable. Gemma is getting a second chance, thanks to Senior Sergeant Roy Appley. We're dealing with people who have got difficulties in their lives which, when they've been charged with an offence, are admitting it. Roy Appley's been a cop for 28 years; a Christchurch officer sick of seeing the same old suspects back in the dock. I would suggest that if the court was working absolutely perfectly, then we might not be seeing some of the same people again and again and again. Answer: get the offender's community involved. The court can deal with that case perfectly well, and does. But what we're trying to do is delve a bit deeper into their lives to find out what's going on. And with the panel, Gemma reveals her problems. Um, I have depression and traumatic... post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and I'm going to counselling for it. So how could you apologise? Perhaps write a letter. It'll be for the panel to decide Gemma's fate. Though to Roy, it's not just about punishment, it's about reform. Take the arrest of 17-year-old Troy, nicked for stealing a bike. A Christian youth group in suburban Christchurch ` an unlikely crime scene, you might think. But that's what it became when a young cyclist came by, went inside, left his bike outside, thinking nothing of it. That's when Troy stole the bike and sold it. It was raining, so I started walking home and saw the bike on the side of the road. So I just picked it up and took off. But you knew it wasn't yours. And that's the issue, isn't it? You knew it wasn't your bike and yet you still took it. 'What intrigues me is when you're talking to these young people,' is I don't think they actually understand the seriousness of their offending at the time. Barry Clarke. He's been a soldier, a manager. My mother said that if I hadn't of gone into the army, I would probably have been one of NZ's better criminals... Now he's dispensing justice. I think it's an opportunity to try and help these young people come back on to the right side of the road. And, um, for the grace of God, that could well have been me. Right now, though, it's Troy who is the panel's problem. So I think you need to understand the inconvenience that you put this person through by stealing something that you knew wasn't yours. It doesn't matter that it was just sitting on the side of the road. But dig deeper and Troy's story is not so simple. How are you, Troy? How are you, mate? How are you, mate? Good. Doing all right? Doing all right? Yeah. Doing all right? Yeah. Good. Good. As Roy, a father himself, discovers, this teenager has no one looking after him. So, there's the jacket you need. Mum is up in Blenheim with my two brothers, and my Dad's down here in Christchurch. He's also flatting in a little sleepout. He's not doing very well either. He's got cancer. He's got throat cancer, and his lungs are a bit... bit munted. Try it on. It's a pretty cool jacket. 'Sadly, not everybody's had those good supports through their whole life, 'and there are an element of our community who continually drop off the edge' because people don't sustain with them long enough to affect a change. I tried to choose stuff that looked OK for you. 'He's found himself in a position where he just hasn't got the ability to cope on his own.' Next up,... So I completely 100% will accept the consequences of my actions. ...will the punishment fit the crime? He's got nobody in his life except his mates. I-I-I just felt that he didn't show enough remorse to me. 5 Artist Gemma Nichol was arrested for assault. In a normal court, she could face up to three months' jail. So I completely 100% will accept the consequences of my actions. Teenager Troy Emmett stole a bike. Thought I'd never get in trouble. Thought I'd never get in trouble. You'd never get in trouble? > By accepting judgement of their community, they're being offered a second chance. It's an amazing idea. It may be personal, but they don't treat you like a criminal. They treat you like a human being. The scheme was set up by Christchurch police and Community Law Canterbury. The hope is that the Ministry of Justice will fund it nationwide. What we're relying on is community members of good standing, who know things about their community, who have been through a breath of life experience of whatever, uh, facet that was for them, and use the best of that, the best of their knowledge, the best of their decision-making ability. On this pilot programme, community members must now decide what to do with Gemma. You certainly do regret the incident. Um, however, it did happen, and so there needs to be some sort of, um, punishment there in that respect. One is a letter of apology. Second one is community service. > Eight to 10 hours a week is what we're looking at. Um, and then back to your GP for continued counselling. # I may be your hero. Your hero. And the community service ` # Your hero. Your hero. # face the music at an old folks' home. A lot of people might see this as a soft option ` as society going soft on crime. Very much so. I am sure there will be people out there, um, they'll look at some of the, for want of a better word, punishment options that we use, and they'll think, um, you know, 'That's a little bit soft. We should hang 'em high.' But those things haven't worked. I mean, you know, we've got a heck of a lot of people in prison. There will be a form of punishment, but there may also be something that we can put in place that can help that young woman to get on with her life. # The world is falling apart... # And within weeks, Gemma had more than carried out her promise. That was really good. It's quite hard to deal with the elderly people cos they have memory loss. So they can't really function normally. And it's quite a challenge, but it teaches you patience. It teaches you to be really compassionate and understanding to different things. So, yeah, it helped a lot. Troy, though, would present a different challenge. OK, Troy, um... Step one ` a letter of apology to the victim. You will also write a letter of apology to the police for wasting their time in this matter. You will also write a 500-word essay on how I feel about losing my prized Ford Escort, and I hope that when you put that down, and it's quite genuine, you will actually think about the things that... if someone had stolen your property. And the final order that he's to join a sports team. He was a very good soccer player, for example, when he was younger at school. He's let that go. So one of the sanctions from the panel was to engage back into some sport to try and foster that in him again, because we all know that filling your time up with good quality activities means less time for offending. All well and good, but six weeks on, Troy hadn't shown a lot of progress. So it's been, what, six weeks since the panel hearing. Not much seems to have happened now, does it? Not much seems to have happened now, does it? Nah, not really. He hadn't sent the letter of apology, and he hadn't joined a soccer team. What's been the problem with the team? > Um, it's a bit hard to find a senior team, because most of the senior teams are full. Junior teams are a lot easier to get into, but I can't do that cos I'm 18 now. And the boots Roy found him for football ` he's lost them. Given that it's been six weeks and you haven't sent the letter yet, do you think people might think, 'Well, Troy doesn't really care.' Yeah, well, if it, um, took someone about two months to apologise to me, I wouldn't, really, you know, I don't know if I should believe it or not. I have taken a while to do it. And what would your explanation be, though? Um, I would just tell them that I've been struggling for the past few weeks. The key ` there's been no more offending, so there's your first one. Were you happy with that progress? Not entirely happy, but not unhappy either. While I would like those things to have been completed well and truly by now, I know some things have happened with Troy which have taken him out of Christchurch for a while. Um, but now he's back, and that's about sustaining the relationship that we've started with him through the community. So Roy's tried a new strategy with the teenager. He's put him where there will be no room for excuses ` practising with the police soccer team. What the community justice panel is trying to do is say, 'We're going to get into this for the long-haul. 'We're not going to give up on this person and put them back to the court system.' In my view that would be, um, perhaps, not being as honest with the concept as what we should be. This is about sustaining with something for a long period of time to affect a change. To receive the insignia of a member of the NZ Order of Merit, > Senior Sergeant Ian Roy Appley of Christchurch... Persistence that has its own reward for this veteran policeman. APPLAUSE The honour is a just reward for years of community service ` earthquake aftermath included. Roy is a real good guy. He's cool. He's cool to talk to. He's helpful. He'll help me have a bit of a think about it so that I don't do something silly like that again. # It don't make you bad to make a mistake... # So, what's your plan now? So, what's your plan now? I want to become a writer. I'm thinking about going to Wellington and going to polytech and studying writing. Are you a better person? > Are you a better person? > Yes, I think so. How? > It makes you realise, cos they treated me like I was a person and not like I was an animal. So, they gave me a voice, and I got to express it. And for Roy, that's what community justice is all about. < Do you think Gemma will come back? < Do you think Gemma will come back? She won't come back to the community justice panel. I'd be very surprised if Gemma ever comes to police attention ever again. # How you gonna change? Going to change? # The community justice panel is on trial, and a decision whether to expand it nationwide will be made September. And an update on Troy. He's served his punishment ` playing soccer for the cops. Now he's turning up off his own bat. Later on Sunday ` craziness on a bike. That's coming up later. But first, Australia's crazy attitude to alcohol. You're under arrest for assaulting police. Do you understand that? You're under arrest for assaulting police. Do you understand that? Oh yeah. Anything you say or do, I'll record you. Do you understand that? Anything you say or do, I'll record you. Do you understand that? Yeah. He's got to be handcuffed. He's got to be handcuffed. He's resisting. Put your arm out, dickhead. If you think all home-loan rates are the same, check out ANZ's best-ever home-loan offer, with all the bells and whistles. 4.95% per annum one year fixed, plus $1000 cash on us. Conditions apply. Welcome back. Australia loves a drink. It just doesn't know when to stop. As a result, there have been 70,000 booze-related assaults last year ` violent assaults. And now police, paramedics and doctors have had enough. Here's Janine Cohen. It was a typical busy Saturday night in Coolangatta on Queensland's Gold Coast. 18-year-old Sam Ford was walking to a nightclub with his girlfriend. Sam and his girlfriend heard a male voice from behind, and he was yelling abuse towards him, trying to entice Sam to fight him. Sam was trying to avoid a fight at any cost. He was trying to protect his girlfriend. Sam's girlfriend tried to shield Sam and was knocked to the ground. This man swung wildly at Sam. The punch was so forceful, when Sam's head hit the ground, witnesses said it sounded like a log cracking open. These scenes were captured on a mobile phone. There's Sam's girlfriend screaming, people yelling, running everywhere, and all he could do was hold Sam in his lap while they waited for an ambulance to come. I remember leaning over him and holding the sides of his head gently, and just continuously talking to him, 'Sammy, can you hear me?' Trying to get any response. 'I am here,' you know. 'Blink your eyes. Just let me know you can hear me.' There was nothing. Still clearly intoxicated, the attacker returned to the scene of the crime and was confronted by Sam's friends. WOMAN: Stop, stop. The attacker had drunk 10 cans of bourbon and coke that night. Obviously was heavily intoxicated when the attack happened. SIRENS WAIL Sam was rushed to Tweed Heads Hospital in a critical condition with a fractured skull and massive brain damage. He looked a mess. He looked... (SIGHS) He looked dead. The doctor said Sam wouldn't make it through the night. They said he needed emergency surgery, that his skull would have to be opened to relieve the swelling. We were taken into a small room where we just had to just sit and wait, hope, pray. It is unlikely that the attack on Sam would have happened without vast quantities of alcohol. Police, paramedics and trauma doctors across the country are frustrated and tired of alcohol-fuelled violence. Tonight we are on the front line with Sydney's Rocks police. Those people have to know that what they are doing is going to do some sort of damage. I don't care how drunk they are. Where's your ID? Get your wallet out. Where's your ID? Get your wallet out. Wow! Police say about 70% of their street work is taken up with alcohol-related cases,... Get your ID out. We've asked you three times. ...some of it petty, much of it not. I am Katie. You started it, Samuel. I am Katie. You started it, Samuel. I started it? Maybe. Please go and get a taxi, please. I think it is part of the Australian culture to go out and have a drink. It's knowing when to stop. And people at the moment, they don't know it. And they keep going and keep going. Why do you care about drunkards? I think a lot of the onus has to be put on licensed premises as well. They need to be more vigilant. They need to be looking at who they are serving. I've seen enough. All right? It's obvious that you're argumentative. I've seen enough. All right? It's obvious that you're argumentative. Whoa! You're blind! Get up. You're blind drunk. Look at you! Let's go. Let's go to the station. Up, up... 'Almost everything that we come across on a Friday and Saturday night 'is called a 'fail to quit', which means that the person will not leave the licensed premises.' Drunk? > Drunk? > Drunk. Are you threatening me? Are you threatening me? Are you a butch girl or what? Are you a butch girl or what? Are you threatening me? Are you a butch girl or what? Are you threatening me? Are you a butch girl? What's 'butch' got to do with it? I have a job to do. For 10 minutes, Reg refuses to leave the entrance of the Rocks Police Station. You guys need to pull your head out of your arse. There are other troublemakers around. OK. He's going to go straight over there. Straight back over! Straight back over! Let's go and lock him up. He's got to get locked up. This is the third time Reg has returned to the hotel. I asked you to take your drink inside... There you go. See you later. Oh, here we go again. Reg is given a $550 fine and put in the police lock-up. He has taken up the time of five police officers, some for over an hour. It would only take me, trust me... An enormous amount of effort and anguish is expended on people who have simply got themselves in such a drunken state that emergency services have to become involved to look after them or patch up the mess that they leave. Hey, talk to me. Don't talk to him. For every good result the young constables get, there's a bad one just around the corner. My name's Constable Lindsay. Get your licence out... It's 3am and a man is refusing to leave the Argyle Hotel at the Rocks. Get on the ground! You touch me? Constable Lindsay takes the man outside, who suddenly becomes violent and attacks him. You are under arrest for assaulting police. Do you understand that? You are under arrest for assaulting police. Do you understand that? Oh yeah... Anything you say or do, I will record. Do you understand that? Anything you say or do, I will record. Do you understand that? Yes. Right. Now he's got to get handcuffed. He's resisting. He's resisting. Pull your arm out! He's resisting. Pull your arm out! Pull your arm out, dickhead! Sam Ford survived the alcohol-fuelled attack three years ago in Coolangatta, but it has left him profoundly disabled. Good morning, buddy. Are you ready to get up, OK? Are you ready to get up, OK? Mm. Are you ready to get up, OK? Mm. Going to have a shower? Ready, set, up. Margaret and Michael have given up their careers to look after Sam. There you go. He needs 24-hour care. Sam is paralysed down one side and has seizures. Just one piece of watermelon at a time, buddy. You are going to choke on it! See? Before the attack, Sam was a natural athlete. He was really well liked. He was good at sport. He was good at everything. He made everyone laugh. Just loved life. Now Sam is trying to learn to walk again. Chest out. Nice and proud. Lovely job. Good job. Keep it coming. Keep it coming. Well done. That was really good. The night of October 10 2009 has also changed another young man's life. The day after the attack, police arrested 18-year-old Damian Ford. No relation. He was jailed for six years and nine months, but with good behaviour, served only two. Damian Ford was a promising local footballer whose life changed forever in a moment of drunken rage. In his record of interview, Damian Ford told police that Sam didn't attempt to throw even a punch. I don't like drinking that much because stupid stuff happens. I don't like drinking that much because stupid stuff happens. Yep. There's no excuse. Drunk or not drunk. There's no excuse for picking someone out in the street and just... going after them. What is that? I don't understand that violent action. I've seen on the news about the guy that got punched and... died from it. It wasn't the first time Damian had been drunk and angry. Because I've been in a few fights before and knocked a couple of guys out cold, and I've always been scared that I was going to hurt someone too much. Living with it has been challenging for Damian Ford and his family. He has learnt a very hard lesson. He just wants to try and move on the best he can. Why did he want you to talk? He wants to let people know his remorse. He is sorry. When we come back, the judge takes a hard stand. And we're in the emergency department. What happened to you? > I got glassed. Oh God! > I haven't seen it quite as bad as this, to be honest. Youse can just... <BLEEP>. Relax! Don't touch me like that! INQUISITIVE MUSIC INQUISITIVE MUSIC CONTINUES MUSIC SLOWS When inspiration strikes, talk to an ANZ Agri manager. We have more local experts in more places to help bring your thinking to life. Hi, again. Every Monday morning New South Wales chief magistrate Graeme Henson cleans up after weekends of alcohol-fuelled violence, and he's getting tough. This offence, the charge of affray, carries a maximum jail sentence of 10 years' imprisonment... He is sentencing a 22-year-old man who admits, along with three other men, to attacking a stranger in the city. He doesn't want to use his intoxication as an excuse for what has happened. And he's truly remorseful over what he has done, and... Tell me why, Mr Kwon, he shouldn't be sent to jail today. This is a first offence and... Well, you don't get one free go. > The prevalence of violence in the community, particularly on our streets, where it is alcohol-related violence, has reached such epidemic proportions and the consequences of such violence in terms of injury upon people within the community has reached such a stage, that society, and rightly so, is fed up with people such as yourself and your colleagues. You're convicted, sentenced to imprisonment... The student was sentenced to nine months in prison and will be eligible for parole after four. What possesses somebody to do something such as that? I don't know. What happens now is there are more people out for a longer period of time in licensed premises, so that the potentiality for people right across the social spectrum to get involved in alcohol-related crime has increased correspondingly. But the powerful lobby group, the Australian Hotels Association, claims it's drugs mixed with alcohol which is causing most of the problems. You're not going to like it, but drugs is an issue, and you just have to look at the mixing of drugs and alcohol is causing problems. What evidence do you have? > You just have to pick up the newspapers, you just have to click on the radio. No one has done any research when it comes to the mixing of alcohol and drugs. So no evidence? > So no evidence? > No. No evidence. That's... just as I said at the time, ludicrous. It may be that illicit drugs are part of the problem, but they are not the problem itself. AMBULANCE SIRENS WAIL It's Friday night in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and call after call to the paramedics is alcohol-related. One day someone is going to sit down and weigh up the benefit in terms of taxes to government from the sale of alcohol against the detriment, or the cost to governments, of servicing the consequences of violence. No wheelchair today? No wheelchair today? No, not any more. No wheelchair today? No, not any more. All gone. Neurosurgeon Brian Owler is the head of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Medical Association. They want new restrictions on the availability, price, sale and promotion of alcohol, which is more affordable and available than ever before. The number of severe head injuries, the types of king hits that we never used to see before, have been on the rise for the past few years. And so that's a real worry. What happened to you tonight, Steve? > What happened to you tonight, Steve? > I just got glassed. Oh God! > Ahh... My Lord! The vast majority of people brought into Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital this Saturday night are heavily intoxicated. Lie down! Lie down! But as the night moves on, things do become serious. You've got no right to touch me! I know the law, mate! John, who is still very drunk, is caught by security guards trying to escape. Just relax, boys, mate. I'm going home to watch Neighbours. Youse can just... <BLEEP>. Relax! Don't touch me like that! Let go of me! What are you doing? I can't breathe! If you talk to any doctor or nurse in an emergency department, I think you'll find it would be very difficult to find one that hadn't directly experienced alcohol-related violence on a regular basis. I haven't seen it quite as bad as this, to be honest. The security guards are covered in blood too. And this is just a typical Saturday night in Australia for many emergency departments. WOMAN: Oh, plee-ease... Why is there so much alcohol-fuelled violence in your opinion? > Well,... there isn't. Back in emergency, things have gotten even worse for assault victim John, who had to be physically restrained earlier. If you are very aggressive and the staff are at risk of being injured, the safest thing to do is to be intubated and paralysed. So, unfortunately, for this chap, during that process he vomited and inhaled his own vomit. After a breathing tube is inserted, John is sent to the hospital's intensive care unit. < Is the country facing a crisis? Well, we are not facing a crisis, we're in a crisis. It's occurring right now. It costs the community over $15 billion a year. Back in St Vincent's intensive care unit, John is in a serious condition. So, he's punched in the nose, fell back and hit his head... Now, we've been told he was actually assaulted. How common are alcohol-fuelled assaults? They are every weekend. They are par for the course. We do our rounds. We start on Mondays and we see these guys. They usually wake up by Thursday. Back in 2008 in Newcastle, local police and residents lobbied for a mandatory trial to help combat alcohol-fuelled violence. Most hotels were forced to close at 3.30am rather than 5am. Lock-outs were introduced after 1.30am, and there was a ban on shots and doubles after 10pm. This resulted in a 37% drop in assaults. < If Newcastle works, why isn't it rolled out across the country? This is what police officers across the country can't understand. Look, we've had other states look at this. It's the best practice. It's the best model. Did the Newcastle model work? No, it didn't. What you've seen is a decimation of the night-time economy in Newcastle. You've also seen the number of hotels drop from 15 down to 9. And in addition, what you're seeing is people coming down to Sydney, going to other places, and you're dispersing the problem. Critics say a raft of reforms are desperately required, but governments will need courage to take on the alcohol lobby. There just seems to be such an issue with this powerful industry actually maintaining governments and saying, 'Wait. You're not taking away our trading hours. You're not taking away our business.' Your critics claim that the reason that governments across the country > aren't doing anything is because your industry is too powerful. > Well, so is the mining industry, so is hundreds of other industry-based organisations. Any changes to the liquor laws in Australia will come too late for Sam and his family. What's your life like now, Sam? Not very good? No. And, Sam, what is the message for other young people thinking of drinking and going and punching people? What would you say to them? and going and punching people? What would you say to them? No. Mm-mm. No, it's devastating, isn't it? Devastating to lives like yours. As you know, we have major issues here in NZ. Police say there are over 300 alcohol-related offences committed every day. When we come back, strap yourself in, come for the ride. You won't be disappointed. WHISTLE HORN TOOTS I'm just downhill from the start of one of the most dangerous bike races in the world. This is the Cerro Abajo bike race in Valparaiso, Chile. CROWD CHEERS OK, we are going to take you on a ride. Trust me, the safest way is from your sofa. It's perhaps the world's most dangerous, exhilarating and mind-blowing bike ride, down the treacherous slopes of Valparaiso in Chile. This is terrifying. PEOPLE CHANT, SING (SPEAKS IN SPANISH) (SPEAKS IN SPANISH) ...cinco, cuatro, tres, dos, uno. WHISTLE It's a crazy, bone-rattling ride, 2km from hilltop to the sea. CROWD CHEER The best mountain bike riders in the world aren't the only ones on show here; the city of Valparaiso is too. And the ones who make this race so unique are the fans, all 15,000 of them. ALL CHEER ROCK MUSIC PLAYS More than 70 riders from 15 countries, and this year, for the first time, there's a wild card in the pack. Holy shit, look how many stairs there are? A young Aussie called Mitch Delfs. It's like a kilometre of stairs. And he has no idea what he's in for. Mitch, be honest, are you freaking out a bit? I'd say a bit, a bit nervous, actually. He first saddled up his mountain bike at the age of 14, and now, at 23, he travels the world as a professional rider. < Why you do what you do? Why? To get the free trips to cool places. There's no doubt Valparaiso is pretty cool. Weird and exotic too. It was settled by the Spanish 500 years ago. These days, it's home to the Chilean navy and some of the most amazing street art you're ever likely to see. Citizens of Valpo have a very special character. They're very joyful, very extroverted. They have their own way of doing things, and that shows in how the streets are laid out, how the buildings are made, everything. That's what makes the race special, really. (BARKS) # Who let the dogs out? # DOGS BARK Those dogs barking. Are they going to be there? Those dogs barking. Are they going to be there? Part of the crowd, I'd say. Yeah, they're part of the crowd. Exactly. There's gonna be barking and cheering and screaming and yelling and heckling and everything. This is Mitch's first look at the course, and his guide is the man who designed it, Victor Heresmann. What sort of speed are you going to get down here? I don't know. It depends on what they do with this. If they go straight a little bit, you'll be going nearly 100 K's, I reckon. There's just some dogs behind us here. You might get that on your race run. You might get that on your race run. That could happen during a race? There's videos of guys going down, and they have dogs running in front of them down the stairs, so there's a good chance you might have a dog. And it's not just dogs that bite. Even being on the sidelines comes at a risk. Justin Schroth is a former rider turned cameraman. While he was shooting last year's race, this happened. One of my friends was coming down and he ended up hitting the handrail, crashing, tumbling, and I turned around to shoot up the stairs, and two guys came around, just in practice, and at the last second, I guess the guy hit the hand rail with his handlebars, clipped them, turns into the crowd and I'm the first one he hits at full speed. What is your biggest fear? Biggest fear is probably just dying, you know. I don't want to get hurt. I don't want to be in hospital here. I just want to, like, do the race, and then once that race is finished, and I'm alive, I'll be stoked. I'll just have a few beers, and that'll be sweet. It's race day. Just a few hours to set up the course, run the race, then pull it all down again. It blends in with the rest of the city because it actually has to blend in. That's why we only have the course open for a few hours, because we don't want to disrupt people's lives more than absolutely necessary. This year, Adolfo Almarza is the sentimental favourite, the local hero, and without doubt, the gutsiest rider in the race. In an accident 13 years ago, he lost both legs. This wasn't Adolfo's year. It's actually crazy for him to ride a bike with no legs. For him to hit a jump that big and land that hard, I think it's just too much, and he just exploded. Luckily, he crashed in the dirt, otherwise things could have gone south pretty quick. Hopefully he's all right. Adolfo was battered and bruised, but other than that, OK. And soon enough, it was Mitch's turn. I don't want to die in Chile. Good luck. (LAUGHS) That's crazy. WHISTLE BLOWS, CROWD CHEERS PEOPLE WHISTLE CROWD: Ooooooh! For a first-timer, Mitch was fast. As rider after rider finished, he briefly dreamt of a podium finish, but local knowledge won out. Quickest on the day was Chilean Mauricio Acuna. In the end, of the 70 who raced, Mitch placed 9th. Not too bad for a beginner. The people here are amazing. I've never had anything like that before. They're tapping you on the back as you're going down. Everyone's, like, trying to get a better look at you, so they're all dominio-sing closer to you. It's crazy. You just hope they get out of the way. But, yeah, definitely an experience, and glad I did it. That's amazing. That's our show for tonight. Thanks for joining us. Do check us out on Facebook, Sunday TVNZ. We'd love to hear from you.