Sergeant Brian Cameron said police, in conjunction with Lakes Environmental, were investigating the "Mellow Yellow" initiative, which began in the United Kingdom and was already being used in other parts of New Zealand.
It involved security and door staff wearing high-visibility vests and having integrated radio communications, allowing all staff to communicate, regardless of the security company they worked for, he said.
The resort had more than its fair share of street crime, he said, highlighted on Monday with the sentencing by Judge Dominic Flatley in the Queenstown District Court of two tourists, Jesper Moe Jensen (21), of Denmark, and Frank Johan Stoel (20), of the Netherlands, to a month in prison as punishment for beating a man on a Queenstown street on April 4.
Mark Hansen was walking in Shotover St about 4.15am when Stoel charged forward, punched and kicked him, with Jensen joining in and punching him.
"There have been studies that have shown the greater the perception [is] there is a uniform presence within an area, the better behaved the populous is likely to be," Sgt Cameron said.
"It comes down to that perception of being caught.
"It's quite possible the only thing someone who is alcohol-addled would fear is being caught."
Integrated communications would mean security staff could alert others once patrons were ejected from, or denied entry to, licensed premises.
Staff would be able to provide descriptions ensuring such patrons were not able to continue drinking in other licensed establishments.
Because Queenstown was a tourism destination, any incident involving tourists - as the offender or victim - was likely to receive more publicity than if it was "New Zealander on New Zealander", Sgt Cameron said.
"That's a natural consequence of being a tourist town - we know the tourists are where the town generates most of its income.
"It's a public-interest story."
However, the resort had "more than our fair share of violence and alcohol-fuelled offending going on", he said.
"The community have had a gutsful of [late-night violence] and are more likely to ask for help.
Lakes Environmental liquor licensing inspector Mary Rose Fitzgerald said funding applications had been made and it was hoped the Mellow Yellow initiative could be implemented by the end of the year.
"Radio communications is our biggest cost - for a charger and a radio it would be $150 for each premises that wanted to participate - it would be voluntary."
A radio channel would also be purchased, at a cost of $250, allowing security staff to communicate.
The vests, designed to fit over jackets, were priced at between $10 and $15 each.
"There are a number of different agencies that give money to different liquor projects - Mellow Yellow is quite a widely supported initiative, so we're quietly hopeful [we'll get some funding]."
