26 January 2011

71 drunk kiddies nabbed at Australia Day Live!

26 January 2011 | By johnboy

ACT Policing apprehended 71 underage drinkers at last night’s (Tuesday, January 25) Australia Day Live concert.

Operation Commander for the event Sergeant Steve Cooke said that this year’s operational strategy involved the early detection and interruption of underage drinking in the areas surrounding Parliament House.

“The intoxicated youth intended to walk to the concert after drinking at nearby locations. In previous years these young people had been the cause of various disturbances at the event. This early detection meant that we experienced minimal problems within the precinct,” Sergeant Cooke said.

A further four young people were apprehended for possession of cannabis, one in possession of a knife. Five adults were taken into protective custody due to their level of intoxication.

ACT Policing worked closely with event organisers and security at the event. The introduction of a temporary fence around the concert area, together with high visibility policing ensured a trouble-free event.

Last year 10 juveniles were taken in to police custody for underage drinking offences during the concert. A similar number were referred by police to ACT Ambulance Service after they were deemed unfit for custody due to their level of intoxication.

[Courtesy ACT Policing]

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bd849:39 pm 26 Jan 11

Make it compulsory for all children under 18 years to be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult (i.e. not their 19yo older brother/sister) to enter the event would cut the number right down. Though any decent parent should be making sure this happens anyway.

LSWCHP9:01 pm 26 Jan 11

silentMac said :

trouble-free? tell that to my 14yo who had to be pulled over the fence by a security guard and given first aid after being crushed against the barrier. A group of youths decided to make it to the front at all costs and had no regard for the masses of kids in the crowd. Once there, one of them lit a flare before dropping it on the ground and causing panic. Her friends only managed to escape the crush when the police showed up. I hope they have more than a hangover today and have some remorse for the distress they caused the kids.

Hmmm…sorry to hear about that. My grommets are post-wiggles age, so we got there a bit late, and ended up right up the back, which was probably 100m or so from the stage at least.. I saw some red smoke which may have been from the flare, but I actually thought it was part of the show. Obviously there are at least a few juvenile arse-kickings in order.

silentMac6:53 pm 26 Jan 11

trouble-free? tell that to my 14yo who had to be pulled over the fence by a security guard and given first aid after being crushed against the barrier. A group of youths decided to make it to the front at all costs and had no regard for the masses of kids in the crowd. Once there, one of them lit a flare before dropping it on the ground and causing panic. Her friends only managed to escape the crush when the police showed up. I hope they have more than a hangover today and have some remorse for the distress they caused the kids.

JustThinking4:30 pm 26 Jan 11

I’d like to know what 71 sets of parents do (or parent do) when drunken underage teens age brought home???

LSWCHP1:57 pm 26 Jan 11

I was there with my kids, and I didn’t see any drunks or any bovver. Good on the rozzers, excellent work.

The only thing that puzzled me was the guy/group named Lil Red who played a song. I just didn’t know what was going on there.

buzz81912:45 pm 26 Jan 11

Just a few more then 10 I suppose…