Happy New Year 2020, South Australia

South Australia Police are pleased with the behaviour of crowds throughout the state at the beginning of 2020 with a number of large crowds being monitored, particularly in the metropolitan area.

New Year’s Eve saw thousands of people in the Adelaide CBD as well as 41,000 people who attended Adelaide Oval to watch the Big Bash Cricket. At the beach, over 20,000 people celebrated in Mosely Square at Glenelg.

Before the New Year’s festivities commenced, police issued warnings that anti-social and disorderly behaviour would not be tolerated, and a highly visible police presence would be utilised at major community events and on public transport.

Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval said “New Year’s Eve was a successful operation for police with no major disturbances reported across the state.

“This means that although there were individuals that made some poor choices, most people were able to have a great night out.

“Our aim from the outset was to ensure a safe and enjoyable night for everyone and the 106 arrests is a clear indication that most people were looking to have a fun and safe night out.

“We need to acknowledge the police officers that were working across the state to ensure the safety of the community while the general public celebrated the New Year” AC Duval said.

There were 106 arrests, 20 people were reported and 92 expiation notices issued for offences including possession of drugs, possessing or consuming alcohol in a dry zone and behavioural offences. This is a reduction from last year which saw 114 people arrested, 19 people reported and 135 expiation notices issued for behavioural offences.

Over 5000 drug and alcohol tests were conducted with 24 positive results to alcohol and 15 positive drug tests. Again these numbers are lower in comparison to last year which saw 56 people caught drink driving and 26 people testing positive to drugs, however it was disappointing for police that some people still do not heed the messages regarding mixing driving and drug and alcohol use given 113 lives were lost on SA roads in 2019.

The only other significant incident of note was a grass fire reported at Highbury. About 10.15pm on Tuesday 31 December fire crews were called to the fire on Lower North East Road. The fire smouldered three to four hectares of grass. The fire was deemed non suspicious however the cause was determined to be a camp fire that users had failed to extinguish fully.

/Public Release. View in full here.