Police union issues grave warning about change to public drunkenness laws

The police union says Victoria will be less safe under new laws stripping police of the ability to arrest people for public drunkenness.

Under the changes, announced by the Andrews government, anybody who is intoxicated in public will be taken home, or to “sobering-up” centres by ambulance.

Police association secretary, Wayne Gatt, told Neil Mitchell that was easier said than done.

Press PLAY below to hear him explain why it’s an issue

Mr Gatt said decriminalising drunkenness is not the issue.

“We don’t think there is a problem, at all, with that – we support that bit,” he said.

“The bit we take issue with is removing the safety net that allows police to deal with police would often call ‘no people’ who are the people who don’t want to consent to going to a health service, that don’t consent to going home, who won’t leave the area willingly.

“They are the people police will be left to deal with and they’ll have fewer powers and, in some circumstances, no capacity to deal with them at all.”

He said police would be restricted in their ability to prevent alcohol-fuelled crime and could only react.

“You can record this soundbite, Neil, because you’ll be able to play this back to a politician in the future when some young kid is king hit,” he said.

“It is easy for us to forget the harm we have become accustomed to police preventing, but we’ll soon be reminded of it when it returns because police are left with less ability to keep the community safe.”

Press PLAY below to hear more on 3AW