Melbourne Cup Day 2023: All dressed up and nowhere to sober up

Victoria has decriminalised public drunkenness with the law reforms kicking in from Cup Day.

The state's health department will take the lead on outreach and sobering services.

Ballarat has no specific "drying out" or "sobering up" centres but on Monday, November 6, the state government flagged Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative to house a First Nations-led sobering centre for this region.

Grassroots police around the Ballarat region have also quietly expressed concerns about the changes which were prompted by the death of Tanya Day after a head injury sustained in custody in December 2017.

Victoria Police will be able to offer help to a drunk person by placing them in the care of family or friends or referring them to a public intoxication support service if the person has the potential to be at risk to themselves. If a person refuses help, they will be left in situ under the reforms.

When a drunk person is presenting a safety risk to others, police will attempt to deescalate the situation and if unsuccessful, may be able to use move on and breach of the peace powers.

"With public drunkenness decriminalised on Cup Day, members will continue to encourage drunk people to seek support and assistance from family or friends. There will also be the option of referring them to the public intoxication response service overseen by the Department of Health," a Victoria Police statement read.

"However, if they refuse and are not presenting a risk to others, there will no longer be a role for police.

"If a drunk person commits a criminal offence, they will be dealt with swiftly by police."

- with MELANIE WHELAN

EARLIER: This story was published on November 2, 2023

Police on the ground in the Ballarat region and at union level fear hospitals will be further inundated after public drunkenness law reforms kick in on Melbourne Cup Day.

Ballarat has no specific "drying out" or "sobering up" centres and the nearest will be 120 kilometres away in Collingwood.

Under the changes police will be encouraged to ask inebriated people if they need help - and if they refuse, the best officers can do is watch from a distance or patrol the area.

Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt said public drunkenness was not just a Melbourne issue - but something officers in the far corners of the state also had to deal with.

"You can't really do anything without a drying out centre," Mr Gatt said.

"This leaves police in a precarious position.

"The number of people accused of being drunk in public has decreased over the years and in most cases police just tell the person to catch a cab with their friends and go home.

"The vast majority do that.

"But there are some who don't. They're the ones we worry about. Anything could happen to them."

Mr Gatt said Victoria was one of the last states to decriminalise public drunkenness but the pendulum had swung too far in the other direction.

"In this case they have killed a good reform, and killed it by taking police out of the equation altogether," Mr Gatt said.

"Even the expert reference group called for a police role to remain. There are much better ways of doing this.

"The police service already exists, there is a station in every town so it would have been best to improve that by inserting a health overlay.

"For example, put nursing staff in the watch house (police station cells).

"We need to continue to divert people away from custody where we can, but where we require someone to be in custody for everyone's safety, then you need a health overlay.

"When this change was being debated we thought that was the idea that best met the objective.

"The cost of implementing this model (with minimal police intervention) by the State Government will cost hundreds of millions of dollars more."

Mr Gatt said ambulance employees and hospitals had also raised concerns about expected increased workloads and dangers.

"And what about licencees?" he said.

"When they call police, they expect us to do something."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Grassroots police around the Ballarat region have also quietly expressed concerns about the changes which were prompted by the death of Tanya Day in December 2017.

The Yorta Yorta woman died 17 days after a head injury she suffered in a Castlemaine police cell.

The police force itself said it was prepared for the November 7 change and training had been rolled out in line with the legislation - especially in areas where public drunkenness was a huge problem.

"There's no doubt this will force a significant change to the way many Victoria Police members operate day-to-day," Victoria Police said in a statement.

"Our members instinctively want to assist the community - that is why they became a police officer.

"However, under the changes, there will be times where members will leave drunk people where they are, particularly when they are deemed not to be a safety risk to the public or they refuse assistance.

"With public drunkenness soon set to be treated as a health issue, we'll continue to liaise closely with the Department of Health which is the lead agency."

Victoria Police said they were trying to make sure drunkenness did not become an issue in the first place - with venues and licenced events told to provide guidance to staff and make sure boozy patrons have access to appropriate help.

A drying out centre in Ballarat could be a long way off.

In Collingwood, Cohealth only won the tender to run their Cambridge Street sobering up centre three months ago.

Grampians Health could not confirm if it had any plans for a drying out centre - and instead referred all questions to the Health Department.

Mr Gatt said he had no idea why Melbourne Cup day was chosen for the change.

"The success or otherwise of this reform will not really rely on what happens on Melbourne Cup Day," he said.

"It will depend on what happens afterwards."

Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.