Schoolies 2025 officially started in Byron last week, sparking a dedicated police operation involving multiple departments, dogs and the annual stars of many selfies in the social media paradise, horses.
Tweed Byron Detective Acting Inspector Donna Tutt said last week Byron’s Schoolies events had changed over the years for the better, with zero arrests last year, and she hoped to see the trend continue.
‘We had a great experience with the young people last year,’ Detective Acting Inspector Tutt told Bay FM’s Community Newsroom* last week, ‘I find that the people that are coming to Byron Bay for their Schoolies celebrations aren’t probably looking for that massive party scene that you probably see in other places.’
‘It’s more about doing activities,’ she said, ‘seeing the night life but not going too crazy, which is great’.
Around 5,000 school leavers were expected to celebrate in Byron Bay, whether over the main week from Sat 28 Dec onward or a ‘shoulder week’ either side, with some expected to stayi a night or two and others longer.
Police horses posing for selfies in Byron: ‘that’s what they do’
An annual dedicated Schoolies police department involving multiple agencies would still happen, Detective Acting Inspector Tutt said, but numbers would be modest.
‘Local police, our public order and riot squads from Sydney are coming up, our operational support group are here,’ she said.
‘We have the dog unit, the mounties, our high visibility police, we have the northern region ops team up and we have a lot of support from the traffic and highway command, which is great.
‘There’s not hundreds of police, it’s just a group of police from each of these units.’
Not only would the popular ‘mounties’, officers on horseback, be in town again, they would also be available for selfies with students upon request in a practice that has become customary at Byron’s Schoolies, perhaps unsurprisingly.
‘That’s what they do, they’re well used to festivals and operations and that sort of thing,’ Detective Acting Inspector said of the horses, ‘so that won’t be a problem at all’.
Byron Bay Police Station open 24/7
Students were encouraged to seek help if in need, with a reminder that the Red Frogs volunteers would also be available to help throughout the season.
I think that they know that if they need help, they can come to us,’ Detective Acting Inspector Tutt said of school leavers, I think they like coming talking to the police and the horses and the different units that we have.
‘If they want to report a crime, come to us and we’ll help you, don’t delay that,’ Detective Acting Inspector Tutt said,. ‘our station is open, 24/7 so you can pop down there, but there’ll be plenty of police on the ground should anyone need help’.
Byron Bay the ‘wrong place’ for a party town
Visitors were also reminded to be respectful.
‘We have wildlife here, we like to keep our streets and our beaches and our dunes clean,’ Detective Acting Inspector Tutt said, ‘so if you’re thinking about coming here and using it as a party town, it’s the wrong place’.
‘Please don’t leave your rubbish and just be respectful of the locals and the community.’
Locals were reminded to be mindful of extra pedestrians and traffic in town over an already busy period in terms of both visitors and local roadworks.
‘Now that we’ve got so many young people expected in our surf town, obviously, be aware that there’s going to be a lot more pedestrians around the town,’ Detective Acting Inspector Tutt said.
‘It’s already quite congested with traffic, as we know this time of year,’ she said, ‘but there’ll be a lot more pedestrians around a lot more young people’.
* Mia Armitage produces and presents Bay FM’s Community Newsroom each Friday from 11am at 99.9 FM in the Byron Shire and via bayfm.org.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
