A Byron Bay Liquor Accord meeting on April 30 was given some promising signs of improvements regarding alcohol-related violence, according to councillor Duncan Dey.
The overall assault rate has dropped by 13 per cent during the 12 months since the Accord was first put in place, and bar owners have confirmed it will be continued for another year.
Cr Dey said that the March 2014 figure of eight was ‘far lower than 21 in 2012’.
‘Other comparisons were more level,’ he told Council.
‘Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research statistics appear three months after the period they cover. The police continue to ask for public CCTV and improved lighting. I pointed out that, while in the UK, CCTV systems are council operated, other agencies could take on this role in Byron Bay. Council supports CCTV being there.
‘The police also report that one in 400 random breath tests yields an offender, while one in 25 “lick tests” (for other drugs) does.’
Tweed-Byron LAC superintendent Stuart Wilkins said the figures were confirmation that the Liquor Accord restrictions were working.
‘We can clearly show that by having the 1.30am lock-out… we’ve seen a reduction in assaults during that period. And that’s one of the compelling arguments we say that is working for those voluntary conditions – that there have been fewer assaults after midnight,’ he told ABC North Coast this morning.
