POLICE will seek a compulsory 1.30am closure for all late-trading Albury pubs and nightclubs as they move to curb alcohol-fuelled violence in the city.
Albury local area commander Supt Gary Commins exclusively revealed his radical plan to The Border Mail yesterday.
“We can turn our faces from it and say it’s just part and parcel of the culture, but we’ve got to do something about that culture, otherwise we’re just going to have people continuing to behave in this way,” he said.
“I’m looking for a changing culture ... in the times that patrons go to the licensed premises and hopefully a change in the attitude to just hanging around the main street.
“Something’s got to be done; we can’t just continue chasing our tails with the problems that are occurring.”
Police will probe the possibility of using the city’s assault and anti-social behaviour data to seek trading-hour restrictions on Albury nightspots through the NSW Offi ce of Liquor, Gaming and Racing.
Supt Commins said Albury’s SS & A and Commercial clubs were not likely to be included in any action; both venues participate in the existing 1.30am lockout but trade until 2am on Saturdays and Sundays.
“I’m aiming not for the registered clubs but for the late-trading licensed premises we’re continually having problems with,” he said.
Supt Commins said nightspots’ late trading hours and alcohol-related violence had been among the key issues raised with the city’s senior police during community consultation sessions at Albury and Lavington shopping centres earlier this week.
The commander wants to see hotel patrons go out and return home earlier.
“While I believe the crime associated with patrons of late-trading licensed establishments has decreased, I do not believe it is to a level that this community would be happy with,” Supt Commins said.
Supt Commins said he would be pursuing “the possibility of seeking 1.30am closures of licensed premises rather than the 1.30am lockout”.
Read the full story and more reports in Saturday's Border Mail.
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