Alcohol related violence and drunken behaviour have been getting a lot of attention recently particularly in the aftermath of Operation Unite but another alcohol fuelled social issue which was identified as problematic during the blitz is drink driving.
The police across Australia, in all states embarked on the blitz on alcohol fuelled misconduct and made hundreds of arrests relating to drink driving, violence and assaults.
In the WA area of Esperance alone 5 motorists were arrested during the operation for drink driving and while the focus was on licensed venues and entertainment precincts, people getting behind the wheel while intoxicated is another huge problem that we need to tackle.
According to Esperance police Sergeant Swadkins, officers charged 5 motorists with drink driving during the Operation Unite, designed to heighten the community’s awareness of social issues relating to alcohol. The following excerpt from www.esperanceexpress.com.au explains further:
The operation was designed to heighten awareness in the community of the social issues that need to be addressed in the community, in particular excessive consumption and risky drinking behaviour, especially among young adults which leads to the risk of injury, assault and other violence.
WA Police deployed its resources across the state, with a focus on licensed venues and entertainment precincts.
Sgt Swadkins said police issued five street drinking infringements over the weekend.
“We had three arrests that resulted in two disorderly charges and one obstruct police charge,” he said.
Locally, police ran a number of rolling random breath tests to target any alcohol-related crime.
“It’s disappointing that we had five people drink driving,” Sgt Swadkins said.
Read more at: http://www.esperanceexpress.com.au/story/1975455/5-drink-drivers-nabbed-in-esperance-leg-of-operation-unite/?cs=1520
According to Sgt Swadkins police operations will continue to target drink drivers over the Christmas and New Year periods. He issued a warning to drinkers that if they are going to drink, do not under any circumstance get behind the wheel of a vehicle.
One of the major aims of Operation Unite this year, according to Metropolitan regional officer acting Commander Charlie Carver was to encourage the public to think about their behaviour and whether it would impact them personally in terms of their health, career or family relationships.
As the Commander explained, going out and having fun is not a problem neither is having a few drinks but people need to stop binge drinking and learn what their limits are and stick to them – not only for their own personal wellbeing but also to be considerate of the people around them.
The article goes on to explain:
“Alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour is not acceptable, and it is time for a cultural shift in the way we drink to make our drinking behaviour safer and more responsible.”
WA Police released its Operation Unite 2013 summary, detailing that state-wide, some 516 individuals were charged with offences over the period, 62 of those were excess 0.08 per cent charges, 66 for drug offences and 65 for disorderly behaviour.
Read more at: http://www.esperanceexpress.com.au/story/1975455/5-drink-drivers-nabbed-in-esperance-leg-of-operation-unite/?cs=1520