Cops going on alert

Roads, booze focus of major blitz

POLICE have warned they will crack down on anti-social behaviour this long weekend, with the region’s population expected to swell during the Australia Day break.

With the public holiday falling on Tuesday, many are expected to enjoy a four-day long weekend.

Geelong local area commander Inspector Peter Nichols said police would be focusing on public order and road policing.

“We are obviously anticipating an influx of people to our coastal areas, including Geelong,” he said.

“We’ll be highly visible.” The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting top temperatures of 26C on Saturday, 30C on Sunday and 39C on Monday for the Geelong area.

A top of 23C is forecast for Tuesday.

Inspector Nichols said officers would be patrolling popular seaside spots and would have “a high visibility around Eastern Beach”, with the expectation people would be drinking and partying over the break.

“We want them to be safe,” he said. “We won’t tolerate any alcohol-fuelled violence or crime. We are still within a pandemic, we’ll be enforcing the chief health officer’s rules and making sure everyone complies with those and is COVID-safe.”

Barwon Health emergency department nurse unit manager Kathryn Ackland said the department tended to see a big surge in people seeking treatment each Australia Day due to the influx of visitors, celebrations involving alcohol and people being more active outside.

“We expect it will be very busy with the hot weather and advise people to protect themselves from the heat by seeking shade, drinking plenty of water, minimising your time in the sun, and looking after the oldest and youngest people in the community,” Ms Ackland said.

“If people aren’t feeling well because of the heat, they should hydrate, cool off, and seek advice from the Nurse on Call hotline, a GP or our urgent care centre at Barwon Health North.”