Safety report calls for culture change

Andrew Mathieson
CREATING European-style piazzas, town squares and “safety zones” inside nightclubs are among the recommendations of a research project on stamping out violence in central Geelong after dark.
A report on the research project recommended attracting a new type of visitor on weekends with night markets, street theatre and art shows in the city’s pedestrian strips.
An eight-member team ran the research as part of their participation in a Committee for Geelong program to groom new leaders for the city.
The team will present its report during a Leaders for Geelong event next week.
Team member Steve Sodomaco said the recommendations aimed for long-term cultural change in central Geelong, including a reduction in alcohol consumption.
“We want this place to be promoted as a place to come and have fun,” Mr Sodomaco said.
“We’re not trying to be moral crusaders or anything but we need to get the right things in place as well as good law enforcement and a cross-section of people to be a vibrant city.
“We want to address making this city more vibrant, more cross-represented with a different demographic.”
Mr Sodomaco said the recommendation for safety zones suggested areas inside hotels where alcohol was not permitted.
Other recommendations included a wider “culture mix”, strong law enforcement, strengthening the city’s liquor accord between police and licensed venues, creation of “safe places” and an emphasis on harm minimisation and safe transport.
Mr Sodomaco said the research backed installation of more surveillance cameras in central Geelong after finding that a similar initiative had reduced anti-social behaviour in Wollongong.
The report also found that public safety in the central city would benefit from council plans for shop-top housing, revealed in the Independent last month.
Mr Sodomaco said that as part of its research the team watched families and groups of people older than typical central-Geelong revellers socialise in safety until 2am in central Brisbane and at Melbourne’s Southbank.
The nine-month project also included extensive observation of patrons at Geelong bars, nightclubs and restaurants.
Mr Sodomaco said the study found that violence in central Geelong was “not too bad” compared to other cities, he said.
“We found that it wasn’t as unsafe as was being portrayed,” Mr Sodomaco said.
Mr Sodomaco said the team’s research would be passed on to safety and law enforcement agencies.
Members of the public would be able to read the report after it was published on-line, he said.