Geelong police reveal grand final weekend crackdown
Geelong police will be on the lookout for antisocial behaviour this grand final weekend.
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Police will have a zero tolerance for drunken, violent or antisocial behaviour this grand final weekend, with the region’s top cop warning officers will be out in full force across the city.
Geelong Superintendent Peter Ward said 19 police units would be patrolling the region when the Cats taken on the Sydney Swans in the AFL grand final on Saturday.
Tens of thousands of Geelong supporters are expected to flood the city’s pubs and venues to watch the highly anticipated game.
Supt Ward warned police were prepared to use “enforcement tools” for those who fail to meet police expectations.
“I want to make it crystal clear that inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated and we will have a strong policing presence to hold people accountable,” Supt Ward said.
“We will need to address those issues quickly and set the tone right from the start.
“What we won’t tolerate is alcohol fuelled violence or inappropriate use of motor vehicles in and around Geelong’s CBD and the division more broadly.”
The heightened police response comes after thousands of people flocked to Geelong’s CBD following the Cats recent premiership wins including 2007, 2009 and 2011.
In unprecendented scenes seen in 2007, Geelong’s CBD was turned into a giant street party.
Fans danced on the back of trucks and parked cars in the middle of Ryrie St.
“We tend to cast a lens back on past experiences, but moving forward that was some time ago,” Superintended Ward said.
“The last grand final that Geelong played was in 2020, and my understanding was that the majority of the community behaved very well, with a smaller minority that decided to do things that did not align with our expectations.”
Officers from Geelong’s specialist family violence unit, licensing units, protective services, highway patrol and critical incident response team will be among those on the scene as well general duty police officers from Geelong, Surf Coast, Ballarat and Warrnambool.
Victoria Police has also started rolling out Operation Scoreboard - a statewide road policing effort to coincide with the AFL grand final weekend.
The operation will be targeting speeding and distracted drivers as well drink and drug driving.
“This weekend is a high-risk weekend from an alcohol consumption point of view, that is generally reflected in impaired driving,” Supt Ward said.
“As recently as Tuesday, we had two motor vehicle instances which turned out to be fatal collisions.
“I want to send a clear message to the public that this is a really high risk time for us and if people think they are going to go out and have a drink please leave the car at home.
“We will have police booze buses out and about so if anyone thinks they can get behind the wheel, rest assured we will be out there.”
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