Police: we’ll clean up this year’s cup

Hamish Heard
Drunken behaviour at last year’s Geelong Cup prompted police to announce yesterday a crack down on boozy antics at next week’s event.
Police said they would target unruly crowd behaviour and drink driving after alcohol-fueled violence, vandalism and liquor licensing offences marred the 2005 cup.
Chief Inspector Wayne Carson said police were run off their feet dealing with revellers who used last year’s cup as “an excuse to get completely wasted”.
“There were far too many drunk people and the level of booze in the marquees was also a concern,” Insp Carson said after last year’s cup.
Police had to shut one marquee after a brawl erupted inside, while another booze-fueled incident led to a man biting a finger off another racegoer.
Insp Carson hoped increased crowd monitoring and enforcement would lead to a reduction of unruly behaviour after police locked up 20 people for public drunkenness at the 2005 event.
He said marquee operators would also be in police’s spotlight after some failed to abide by license conditions last year.
The region’s top cop, Superintendent Steve Barber, warned anyone driving home that a police operation would sting drivers who drank too much.
Booze busses and mobile patrols would target drink drivers in back street “rat runs” as well as main roads, he said.
Supt Barber warned that anyone detected over the legal limit had “no excuse” because Transport Accident Commission staff would run free breath testing at the cup.
“Don’t take the risk of drinking and driving after the cup because you will be caught and will pay the price,” Supt Barber said.
Police were determined to ensure law-abiding patrons could enjoy Wednesday’s races in safety.
“In the interests of patron safety, we’ll be keeping a close eye on all sections of the track to make sure everyone can enjoy a great day of racing,” Supt Barber said.
“Anyone seen behaving inappropriately will be suitably dealt with.”