The weekend is one of the worst times for alcohol fuelled crime and binge drinking in Sydney’s CBD and last weekend was no different. Police in the CBD embarked on “Operation Rushmore 4” the latest round of police inspections aimed at rooting out harmful drinking behaviour leading to violence.
Each night this weekend police patrolled the entertainment districts and licenced venues. The operations yielded 40 arrests and 54 charges were laid against drunk troublemakers.
These are the types of operations that patrons and licensees should expect in the future and any venues found guilty of Responsible Service of Alcohol breaches will find themselves on the 3 strikes register.
Police have run special operations targeting alcohol related violence for a number of years, and police are pleased with this weekend’s success.
Over 260 police officers were on the street carrying out the operation, roaming the streets in order to deter would-be troublemakers with their presence and to catch people displaying anti-social behaviour related to binge drinking.
According to police, the aim of the operation is to encourage patrons to drink responsibly. Even though police are pleased with this weekend’s results, 43 arrests were still made, totalling 54 charges. Police searched 91 people with another 176 moved on from trouble spots.
Officers from the Highway patrol conducted in excess of 1400 random breath tests, with 400 infringement notices being handed out
Read more about the operation with this post from TheShout.com.au:
Over 260 police officers were deployed each night of the weekend in the latest round of Operation Rushmore, the NSW Police initiative to target alcohol-related violence in Sydney’s CBD.
From Friday to Sunday nights police inspected licensed premises and patrolled key areas, arresting 40 people and laying 54 charges “against a number of people who, as a result of the excessive consumption of alcohol, caused trouble and committed a number of violent offences” said acting superintendent Tony Bell in a statement yesterday.
The activity concentrated on the entertainment precincts at The Rocks, George St, Oxford St and Kings Cross and is the fourth round of Operation Rushmore.
Previous operations have also resulted in multiple venues being added to the NSW ‘3-Strikes’ register.
Although pleased with the outcome of the operation, police are still concerned about the number of young people roaming the streets, “looking for trouble”. This is even more worrying than the adults that were found because it indicates that young people are starting at an even earlier age to abuse alcohol and cause trouble. Police found a number of these young people roaming the streets. 11 young persons were detained and assisted home, the youngest one of them being only 13 years old.
Police are expected to continue these types of operations with the support and backing of the government and the public who are sick and tired of the alcohol fuelled violence in the entertainment districts. Police are confident that with continued operations they will be able to positively impact the safety in these districts and make them safer for all patrons, with licensees and their staff also playing an vital role in controlling binge drinking by monitoring how much alcohol patrons are served.