14 December 2008

Nothing known on Civic violence, no answers suggested.. Quick do something

| johnboy
Join the conversation
23

Yesterday’s Canberra Times had an odd piece with Simon Corbell promising to do, er, well, something.

Something about drunks in Civic.

Simon admits in the article that he doesn’t know if things are getting better or worse and still has no idea what he’ll do.

ACT Policing’s Michael Chew knows what he’d like:

    Superintendent Michael Chew said introducing lockouts could reduce violence around nightspots. While results from lockouts in other states were mixed, there was merit in the idea.

    ”Of course, if you haven’t got the people travelling between licensed establishments, then the potential for them to interact with other people in a condition that they may not be thinking reasonably is reduced,” Superintendent Chew said.

Interacting with people is unfortunately the number one reason for heading out to an entertainment precinct no?

I’d also suggest that one of the things keeping people safe is having lots of other people around.

Anyone for year round night buses letting people get home instead of stuck in Civic tired and emotional?

Join the conversation

23
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Nah you want a little old lady (who’s perhaps an instructor in Krav Maga) to come along and cripple the moron.

Remember a decade ago when that mental cripple Paul Osborne wormed his way into getting a set closure time for all the nightclubs. It was absolutely ridiculous emptying all the bars and nightclubs at the one time because there were nowhere near enough taxis. I hope the government doesn’t fall into that trap again.

popgoescanberra10:45 pm 15 Dec 08

Why do people stay out so bloody late? This isn’t Barcelona.

Coming from a town (Devonport, Tas) which has a 3pm lock out curfew

Wow 3pm… that’s hard-core!

Currently there is a 5pm lockout on everyone. That is the problem they are attempting to address. Very early in the morning – heaps drunk and getting kicked out of clubs.

I had heard there was going to be staggered lockouts on different clubs.

Sleaz – didn’t know there was a nightlife in Devonport 😛

Having said that I agree with everything you have said. The best fix for violence in Civic would be more busses running late at night. I jumped on the nightrider on Friday night and got back to Woden for $10 – normally a $30 cab fare. Yes it took me on a scenic route and I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to make it home – but it did just about take me to my door = me a happy slightly intoxicated camper.

Having said all that, I’ve speant a fair bit of time in Civic late at night and I’m not sure if it’s as bad as is being made out. I haven’t seen that many fights there – maybe I’ve just been lucky, or in the wrong place at the right time…

Oh yeah and to get around the curfew the clubs which were close enough to each other simply built “tunnels” or secret little passageways to each other so people in the know could move around as they chose anyway. Human ingenuity defeats stupid regulations again.

Coming from a town (Devonport, Tas) which has a 3pm lock out curfew I can state from experience it does absolutely nothing at all except a) leave a whole heap of drunks outside loitering around looking for trouble b) everyone in the town looking to get a taxi at the same point c) people who stepped outside at 0255 h to call/hear someone on their mobile or grab a smoke getting refused re-entry and either becoming isolated and an easy target or really really angry at the bouncers and starting their own trouble (yes me) and there is a mad rush at 0230 – 0255 to cram into the only pub people want to be in making it crowded, annoying and loud and last but not least locking people into a club/pub where they might be having some difficulties/harrassment/trouble and are unable to easily move on or get out of the situation.

Worst idea ever whoever thought of it should drink drive and die or go back to knitting.

On that note I spent about an hour and a half with an increasingly pissed off, wet and drunk crowd standing in the taxi line on saturday morning, there was literally almost 3 fights by people shuffling in “with friends” and there was a good 30 min period where no taxis at all came along and I saw a lot of people just going f this let’s grab our cars. Throwing a thousand people out of pubs or refusing them entry simply because it is past 0300 h won’t improve anything at all.

Public policy can do very little to prevent what is essentially a CULTURAL problem – that is, the spread of binge drinking culture. Why do people drink until they are wrecked, and not just until they are happy? Address the root cause and you might ameliorate the effects.

Unfortunately, this is one of those problems that will never be solved, only managed.

The tactic of stopping cars as they exit Pitts Carpark lane has be used for more than a decade (if not longer). The cars have nowhere to go and it’s small enough for the coppers to see who is getting into what car.

I must have been breathalyzed there a dozen times over the years. Sometimes when you don’t think they are there they suddenly step out of an unmarked car parked near the exit.

One bar manager I know reckons that there are more fights in town these days as the cab numbers are down (drivers not wanting the risk) and the fact that bars are refusing service to more and more drinkers – who end up out on the streets with a shitty mood and no-where to go.

Xbikee – Don’t know how you red the photo but to me it looks like there was a fight and a bunch of coppers moving over to break it up. Person been sprayed in the process and a couple of guys still going the biff as the cops hadn’t got to them yet.

People will fight no matter who is standing around.

It’ll end up with police stationed at the entrance to nightclubs.

Was that ‘macho no-shirt really big dikhead’ the guy from the Raiders that was locked up for fighting in Civic?

Can’t recall his name, looks like him though. Ahh professional sportsmen, what would life be like without them?

An interesting front page photo though … there was the fight in progress less than five paces from three coppers; the guy rubbing pepper-spray (?)out of his eyes, and, that macho no-shirt really big dikhed obviously about to have a go at the bloke with back to camera -again, [far] less than five paces from the coppers. Does this show the complete lack of caring about the law or other people, never mind ‘respect’ for the law and the enforcers of same? Deliberate antagonising of same? Talk about “don’t let your night out turn into a nightmare” … I think those waste-of-money adverts are for midteens though. These guys are definitely out to get pissed and get into a fight. I agree with Fabforty: clamp down on the servers of alcohol, because the coppers [tools of Corbell] are still responding after-the-fact. But I do like their slightly out of character approach to carpark nabbing of drink drivers. Now they have set that precident …

Don’t know where you were looking last night Kerces I saw about twice the number of regular coppers and cars and then some.

I agree with fabforty – responsible service of alcohol is getting the people into the state they are in. Maybe it needs to be looked at with on the spot fines issued to clubs who aren’t complying.

Don’t we have “responsible service of alcohol” laws in the ACT ? I hold a NSW liquor license and the laws surrounding intoxicated persons are pretty strict. Any staff employed to serve alcohol have to complete mandatory “spot the drunk” training and there are penalties for employees and owners who serve intoxicated people.

Stop serving the pissed idiots even more alcohol and some of the problems might be reduced. Clearly if people in the City are so drunk they are vomiting and passing out, someone is serving them long after they should. Perhaps the police need to start finding out from the drunks exactly where they were when they got into this condition.

I also agree that there needs to be better transport available to get large crowds out of the City area on Friday and Saturday nights. Depending on taxis is a gamble at best.

In defence of Mooseheads, however, I think the violence erupts outside there because apparently they refuse entry to anyone who looks maggoted.

Ari said :

I guess we’ll find out if Corbell listens to the Australian Hotels Association … or whether he’s a Chew-backer.

Classic !

Even if buses went until 4 am that would appease most party goers in civic.

After seeing the two large stories in the paper and hearing all the hype about 80-odd drink drivers caught in civic over the past few weeks, I was most surprised when at midnight last night I drove (sober) in basically a big circle around civic and did not see one police car let alone a breath testing setup. Maybe they only want to catch the rowdy drunks leaving after 2am and not the quieter drunks going home early?

There were two articles in the paper – the second one in the forum section with an account of a standard Saturday night in Civic. After working around Civic for the past 10 years I can’t say it’s really getting any better or worse. Its the same drunken violence now as it was then.

Link to slideshow here: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/slideshowplayer.aspx?id=4597

Weaselburger12:12 pm 14 Dec 08

Trying to get the pubs to shut people out… is it just me or does this mean that all the potential drunk ‘troublemakers’ will be outside in groups all pissed off because they can’t get into the pub…… and if that’s the case then wouldn’t they create more trouble out of boredom, sounds that your damned if you do damned if you don’t

“Yesterday’s Canberra Times had an odd piece with Simon Corbell promising to do, er, well, something….”

It was an odd article. The article had nothing new to say, nor did Simon Corbell.

It was a striking photograph (a bit ‘Fight Club’). Perhaps they just had to find a bit of text to justify running the photo.
.

I guess we’ll find out if Corbell listens to the Australian Hotels Association … or whether he’s a Chew-backer.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.