POLICE have Elizabeth Quay in their sights as a potential flashpoint during future New Year celebrations after about 3000 revellers were at the waterfront CBD site to see in 2017..
“That number will only increase as time passes,” Senior Sergeant Craig Davis said.
However, the biggest issue in the CBD and Northbridge was large numbers of underage children without parents, particularly those aged about 15, and the large portion of them drinking alcohol.
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READ NOW“We saw about 1000, and quite a few were drinking, while others were already affected by alcohol,” Sgt Davis said.
He said most of the children had travelled to Perth by train, police moved many on and several were arrested.
At Elizabeth Quay, the crowd was generally well behaved but Sgt Davis said a quickly-organised event was enough to attract the sizable group to the site.
He said police were concerned about the potentially lethal mix of large groups drinking alcohol next to water.
“We also had a lot of boats arriving at midnight, about 1000-2000 people, but we had Water Police and extra Perth-based police,” he said.
Across the Perth CBD on New Year’s Eve, police made 14 arrests, mostly for disorderly conduct, issued 16 summons and 32 cannabis intervention notices, gave out two juvenile cautions, and issued 128 move-on notices.