By Andrew Starke
NSW hoteliers have welcomed the launch of ‘Operation Unite’ – a nationwide crackdown on drunken violence that will see police take to the streets in force this weekend.
In NSW, up to 1500 police officers will be rostered on for the operation, which runs over two days from today (Sep 10).
“This is what we have wanted to see for some time,” AHA (NSW) CEO Sally Fielke
said.
“More police out there on the streets targeting loutish behaviour. Hotels are more than happy to work with the NSW Police Force to make our towns and cities safer for everyone.”
“We strongly support evidence-based measures that work and high visibility policing is proven to reduce anti-social behaviour – New Year’s Eve in Sydney is a classic example,” she continued.
“Our members are happy to co-operate with the police on this initiative.”
Fielke said it was important that all stakeholders acknowledged that anti-social behavior occurred in a variety of places for a variety of reasons.
“This operation acknowledges that anti-social behaviour is an issue in our community – it’s happening not just in licensed venues, but in the home, on our streets and with our underage kids,” she said.
“Drugs are also a factor in this.”
The hospitality industry association was also pleased to note the NSW Police Commissioner’s revelation earlier this week that assaults on licensed premises had dropped by 10.8 percent over the last two years.
“We commend licensees for their management techniques and proactive initiatives that have helped drive this figure down,” said Fielke.
“We also support the intent of Operation Unite to drive cultural change in relation to drinking behaviour.