DIY Policing offer ignored

Police and Council have ignored a suite of proposals to better manage late-night crowds in Kings Cross, say local business representatives.

Among these is a proposal, made in June 2009, for businesses and venues in Kings Cross to pay for supplementary “DIY Policing” after midnight on weekends.

However the proposal has been ignored, and Assistant Police Commissioner Frank Minnelli had cancelled three meetings about it, said Doug Grand, chairman of the Kings Cross Liquor Accord. The Accord  authored the proposal along with the Potts Point and Kings Cross Business partnership. The two organisations represent 500 businesses.

”We want to reduce violence as much as anyone else,” said Mr Grand. “This proposal would put more visible police on the beat, targeting the bad guys and discouraging others from behaving badly.”

“The latest statistics from OLGR show that 75 percent of assaults happen on the street, not in the controlled environment of a venue – that’s why we think the DIY Policing will be effective,” he said.

“Council has also refused our requests for more CCTV monitoring, saying that the optical cables were never laid when the street was upgraded, and they refuse to provide extra cleaning services.”

Council and the Police were interested only in closing businesses instead, punishing the vast majority of well behaved patrons, businesses and their employees.

There are 65 late-night licenses in Kings Cross, employing an average of 40 people each, totalling 2,600 jobs, he said.

“Most of these are students who can’t work during the day and who rely on these jobs to get them through uni.”

Asked about the DIY proposal and Mr Minnelli’s cancelled meetings, the Police Media Unit could find no record of it and did not respond.

by Michael Gormly