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2003
City Assault Numbers Fall
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday June 11, 2008
ASSAULTS in the Newcastle CBD were down for the second straight month, but only time will tell if hotel trading restrictions are working, Newcastle police local area commander Charles Haggett said.
Crime figures for May showed assaults in Newcastle down by 29 per cent on long-term averages.The figures are similar to those from April, which also showed a reduction in assaults since the introduction of the controversial lockout and curfew at inner-city hotels.Superintendent Haggett said early evidence suggested the restrictions were contributing to better behaviour among patrons, but emphasised more time was needed to properly evaluate the plan."It's extremely early days [and] this needs to be running for an extended period," Superintendent Haggett said.An example of the need to evaluate the plan over a greater period was the fact that patrons were still adapting to the restrictions.Superintendent Haggett said after initial drops in the number of patrons visiting Newcastle after hours, bigger crowds had been hitting the town recently."What we have observed [since the restrictions were enforced] was a significant drop in the levels of intoxication," he said."More recently we have had numbers coming back into town and that has coincided with some violent incidents."While crime statistics are down, a number of brawls and other violent incidents, including assaults of police, have occurred in the past few weeks.An officer sustained minor injuries from a drunk in Parry Street, Newcastle West, on Saturday night.Police also sustained injuries during brawls at Newcastle and Hamilton in the past two weeks.Publicans have used such incidents as evidence that trading restrictions are ineffective in curbing violence, while residents groups argue they show a need to push the lockout and curfew further.But Superintendent Haggett said such incidents were not necessarily related to the lockout.
© 2008 Newcastle Herald
