Smoking ban: City of Sydney admits rangers may need police help to enforce no puff rule

CITY of Sydney rangers may have to call on police to assist with rule-breaking smokers to enforce bans throughout the city.

City of Sydney may have to call on police to assist with rule-breaking smokers who refuse to give their details when a ban on smoking is introduced later this year.

THE City of Sydney has admitted it made a mistake announcing council rangers could soon arrest smokers who light up in nonsmoking zones, admitting rangers have no power to do so.

Police may be called on to help council rangers enforce new smoking bans introduced throughout the city.

As part of a plan introduced by the City of Sydney to make Pitt St Mall the latest smoke-free zone in the CBD, rangers can demand the name and address of a person caught smoking.

Martin Place and the Pitt St Mall will be made smoke-free zones later this year.

In a statement to Central Sydney, the City initially said rangers could arrest offenders who refused to give their details when faced with a $110 fine.

“Rangers have the authority to demand the name and address of a person who is caught smoking in the prohibited area.

“The rangers also have the power of arrest when it comes to a person refusing to provide details, or will request assistance from NSW police if required,” a City spokeswoman said.

But after further inquiries by Central Sydney, the City backtracked. A spokeswoman admitted they had made a mistake and confirmed rangers could not arrest people.

“Rangers have the authority to demand the name and address of a person who is caught smoking in the prohibited area. Refusal to provide this information can result in a fine,” the spokeswoman said.

The move comes after the City’s announcement that the popular shopping stretch would be declared smoke free later this year, along with Martin Place, following the success of a 12-month trial at Martin Place.

Throughout the trial, rangers had the power to demand a person’s details, and were allowed to follow non-compliant smokers into their workplace in a bid to pressure them into providing their information.

Central Sydney reported in March that not a single person had been fined for smoking in Martin Place after 10 months of the trial.

Concerns were expressed by councillors about the ability of rangers to enforce the ban if people refused to give their details.

Smokers in Pitt St Mall who will be unable to smoke following the ban later this year.

The City insists that fines raised from the operation is not to raise revenue, but to deter cigarette butt littering and change smokers’ behaviour.

“This is primarily an educational campaign to reinforce nonsmoking,” a City spokeswoman said.

“Rangers are trained to judge each case on individual merit and encourage smokers to extinguish and dispose of their cigarettes appropriately, or move on from the area.”

During the trial, the number of smokers dropped from 300 to between 30 and 60 smokers a week.

While 80 per cent of people surveyed by the City of Sydney said the Martin Place ban should be permanent, not everyone is pleased with the result.

Clayton Zwanenburg, a smoker and visitor to the Pitt St Mall, said he saw the introduction as an infringement on his freedom.

Clayton Zwanenburg, a smoker and visitor to the Pitt St Mall, said he saw the introduction as an infringement on his freedom.

“I appreciate that there’s people who don’t like it but then if you’re walking here and you saw a group of people smoking, don’t come and stand here ... I have every right to sit here and smoke and you have every right to sit here and not have a smoke blown in your face,” Mr Zwanenburg said.

“I try and be courteous when I’m around people, I’ll blow it down or up and out, I don’t blow it in people’s faces but ... it’s an attack on people’s choices and I love the way we sell ourselves as a free country but, we’re not really,” he said.