A 10-week, statewide blitz on anti-social behaviour by Queensland police has proven overwhelmingly successful, Treasurer and acting Police Minister Andrew Fraser said.
Mr Fraser said since Operation Merit's implementation in November, around $1.5 million had been spent on additional patrols used to crackdown on Queensland's drunken 'hot spots'.
"Make no mistake - society won't tolerate the anti-social behaviour of drunken louts, and neither will this government," Mr Fraser said.
"Of course over the Christmas-New Year period, festive celebrations often include having a drink, and no-one is against that. But some people don't when enough is enough, and serious amounts of booze can result in serious amounts of trouble.
"Operation Merit was designed to increase police presence where it's needed most. The Queensland Police Service has advised that the operation has been a resounding success, helping minimise dangerous behaviour and volatile incident s.
"The numbers speak for themselves. There have been an additional 589 people arrested across Queensland for alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour during Operation Merit, with 1415 additional charges.
"Over 1000 harm minimisation public orders were made, which involved moving people to safety, into the care of a friend or into a taxi.
"Additional resources also targeted drink driving with 8259 extra RBTs being conducted across the state.
"Police also visited 2785 licensed premises and conducted 3412 walk-throughs of licensed premises or businesses."
Mr Fraser said the additional funding has resulted in 16,000 additional hours of police patrolling so far.
Acting Police Commissioner Kathy Rynders said that due to the success of Operation Merit, blitzes on entertainment hot spots would continue as needed throughout the year.
"Operation Merit has been very successful in seeing a decrease in violent alcohol fuelled behaviour over a period of increased police presence," Acting Commissioner Rynders said.
"The Queensland Police will continue to target entertainment hot spots throughout the year and assess where an increased police presence will be beneficial to community safety," she said.
Issued by Statements@qld.gov.au January 13th 2010
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