Extra powers for South Australian police to deal with anti-social, disorderly behaviour in Adelaide's west end

Hindley Street is central to the Adelaide city west end zone giving police extra powers relating to bad behaviour.

South Australian police (SAPOL) gained extra powers to manage anti-social and disorderly behaviour in Adelaide city when its west end was declared the state’s first public precinct for a year from November 2017 on Fridays and Saturdays from 6pm to 6am.

Law changes in 2015 allowed for public precincts to be declared, giving police similar powers to those they can use in a licensed venue. A public area can be declared for a specified time, where there is a reasonable likelihood of conduct occurring that would pose a risk to public order and safety. The changes will see SAPOL given these powers in a declared public precinct:

• Conduct a metal detector search of a person;
• Ban a person between specified hours;
• Direct a person to move on, similar to the current powers in the Summary Offences Act;
• Provide an offence of “behave in a disorderly or offensive manner in a declared precinct’ with a penalty of $1250 or an expiation notice of $250;
• Remove a child under 18 years if a police officer believes the child is in circumstances that place the child at risk.

The City West declared precinct took in the area bordered by North Terrace, West Terrace, Currie Street and King William Street, and including Hindley Street.

Deputy police commissioner Linda Williams said that SAPOL welcomed the legislation “as it allows police to effectively manage inappropriate behaviour in real time without the need to be unduly tied up with arrest documentation or administrative burdens.