More than a dozen arrests were made and over 20 charges were laid in Western NSW as police targeted alcohol-related crime and COVID-safety compliance in a two-day blitz across regional areas over the state last weekend.
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On Friday and Saturday general duties officers assisted licencing police to carry out 268 business inspections with anti-social behaviour another focus of Operation Pariac, they also conducted nearly 1,000 random breath tests.
Of those 21 charges five were directly related to possession, or supply of prohibited drugs including one incident in Parkes were two people were charged on Saturday afternoon.
Assisted by the Police Dog Unit, officers attached to Central West Police District were undertaking taskings in Parkes and during the operation two cannabis cautions were also issued and four licencees were handed infringements relating to Liquor and Gaming Act breaches.
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Throughout the two-day blitz there was 37 Liquor and Gaming infringements issued in the Western region along with two move-on directions, while the 878 RBTs conducted resulted in 16 drink-driving infringements too.
"Licensing police will be following up with those venues who are not abiding by the Liquor and Gaming Act to ensure travelling through Regional NSW is safe and enjoyable for all," Operation Pariac Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Chad Gillies, said.
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With the Northern and Southern regions included too, as a whole the blitz resulted in 55 arrests and 76 charges. Although there was none in the Western region, there was a total of 18 COVID-safety related breaches identified too.
"We in NSW need to be conscious that the pandemic is not yet over - as such, we must maintain all relevant safety precautions, including social distancing, good hygiene and checking into venues using the NSW Health QR codes via the Service NSW app," Acting Assistant Commissioner Gillies said.
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"If you do not have a smartphone, it is a requirement of all venues to have a manual check-in option. These details are required in the event of contact tracers needing to identify any persons who have been at a venue during a certain time period.
"We have been doing these things for more than a year now, it has become common practice to check-in wherever we go - whether it be a licensed venue or not. It's on the patrons, licensees and staff members to ensure all procedures are followed so we can continue to live in a COVID-Safe way."
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