1 January 2011

Police happy with New Years' crowds

| johnboy
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This in from ACT Policing:

A large number of people gathered in Civic welcoming 2011 in a responsible and considered manner. Police noted the vast majority of revellers were well behaved and considerate of others, reflected in the low number of arrests.

New Year’s Eve Police Commander Superintendent Mark Antill said the 4 arrests related to anti-social behaviour and drug offences.

“We believe the high police visibility in entertainment districts contributed to the low number of incidents. Having a large police presence allowed us to intervene in situations prior to them getting out of hand. It’s great to see the great majority of revellers were well-behaved,” he said.

The Youth Reception Centre police established at City Station processed 10 young people with 8 collected by parents or suitable guardians within a reasonable amount of time, one conveyed to hospital and another escorted to the Watch House following unsuccessful attempts to find a suitable guardian.

The Alcohol Crime Targeting Team conducted 14 Licensing inspections, targeting occupancy loadings as well as the sale and supply of liquor to intoxicated persons, issuing 2 Criminal Infringement Notices.

Around 6.10am police attended a fight outside on East Row, Civic where a 17-year-old youth was subdued with capsicum spray. He was taken into custody for breach of the peace and later released into a responsible adults care.

Dedicated traffic patrols conducted high visibility random breath testing on major arterial roads throughout the evening. Over 500 tests were conducted by these patrols with no positive tests.

Superintendent Antill said the result of having no drivers found to be over the legal limit travelling to and from the entertainment districts is particularly pleasing for ACT Policing as it demonstrates that people planned their evening and travel arrangements. We hope this is indicative of a future trend with the Canberra community.

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Oh, isn’t it nice to be patronised by some old bloke in a uniform…

Great picture of a Police spraying on the front page of the times. Looks untidy until you go to page 7 and see the rest of the story which puts it in context. Definately placed there to sell papers.

Felix the Cat6:36 pm 02 Jan 11

There was a pic on the front page of Sunday’s Canberra Times of the cops using capsicum spray on some young guy who had been allegedly* brawling.

*not really sure why we need to say “allegedly”, the pic inside the same newspaper shows the offender with his fist in full swing at his male victim on the ground.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/multimedia/images/large/1057312.jpg

AussieRodney2:25 pm 02 Jan 11

Pretty good, from what I saw. Demand had dropped off by about 5am.

I’d be interested to hear how well the Nightrider service did last night.

Maybe the police should have ventured out Ainslie way, seeing as our neighbours had a stimulant induced party all night / morning that left everyone on the block awake until about 5am – no Fat Boy Slim does not sound any better the 30th time around, no matter how loud you play it.

Somehow I think the chorus of lawn mowers, which set off this morning at 9am in retaliation, probably didn’t wake them from their comas.

Hmm… it was certainly quieter than previous years – but I reckon much of that was from the small crowds. There still was certainly a lot of antisocial behaviour though – I personally saw the results of a number of “proper” assaults.

luther_bendross7:50 pm 01 Jan 11

“We hope this is indicative of a future trend with the Canberra community.”

You are kidding yourself. Stick RBT’s along every road out of the parliamentary triangle at 5pm on a Friday and see what trend you get there, and again at the Hellenic Club at 7:30pm.

A surprisingly good news story.

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