Victoria Police boss Shane Patton says more powers denied ahead of new public drunk laws

Victoria’s top cop says outgoing premier Daniel Andrews has knocked back their requests for extra powers to help respond when new public drunkenness laws come into effect later this year.

Victoria’s top cop says police are “very well prepared” for when new public drunkenness laws come into place despite requests for additional powers being knocked back by the state government.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the legislation would completely overhaul the way police respond to public drunks.

He said several recommendations the force made to the government, then under outgoing Premier Daniel Andrews, had not been granted ahead of the move.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton says the legislation will completely overhaul the way police respond to public drunks. Picture: Nicki Connolly

“We made representations to government about some additional powers. We didn’t get any and so we’re putting our training in place to do that,” Mr Patton said.

“It will be a very big change for my police officers, a very big change to change from processes and routines that they’ve gotten used to over the journey where they’ve used public drunkenness as an intervention to be able to arrest.

“We are very well prepared for that.”

Police will be stripped of their powers to arrest people who appear to be heavily intoxicated in public from Melbourne Cup Day on November 7.

Instead, dedicated “sobering up” centres and teams of health professionals will be set up across the state in what Mr Patton described as a shift to treat public drunkenness as a health issue instead of a matter for police.

Police will be stripped of their powers to arrest people who appear to be heavily intoxicated in public from Melbourne Cup Day on November 7. Picture: AAP

“Now it’s going to be treated as a health issue, health will be the lead. Outreach workers will be involved for those who consent and where there’s not a risk to public safety and we’re training towards that,” he said.

“We’ll continue to provide what we do in de-escalation if there’s risks and the like.”

Mr Patton said more than half of the force’s frontline officers had completed mandatory training ahead of November.

“Over half of the organisation, the frontline, have done the training. We will be ready for the seventh of November, but it’ll be a completely different circumstance to what we currently experience.”

It comes after a leaked instructional video for Victoria Police officers instructed members to leave drunk people who refuse help on the street.

The video showed police approaching a drunk woman on a park bench before leaving to continue their patrols when she refuses help.