Tasmania Police will be out in force from Friday morning as the 25th annual Falls Festival gets underway at Marion Bay.
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Senior Sergeant Troy Hodge said police will be working closely with event organisers throughout the event, which runs from December 29 to 31.
“To ensure a safe festival for all patrons, there will be a high police presence including uniformed and plain clothes police, licencing officers and drug investigation services officers with the drug detection dogs,” he said.
“We want everyone to have an enjoyable and safe festival.
“The risk of anti-social behaviour at a music festival is high, particularly when alcohol is consumed.
“We urge everyone to drink responsibly, don’t take drugs, and look after your mates.”
On Thursday organisers confirmed the event was tracking well to sellout, which would mean a capacity crowd of 16,000.
Falls Festival co-producer Paul Piticco said the committee has been working closely with emergency services to ensure the safety of all festival goers.
“We have a patron safety hotline at all Falls sites and we encourage anyone who feels a threat to their health, safety and wellbeing, or witnesses another patron at risk to call this number and get help immediately,” he said.
“We fully support any actions taken by Tasmania Police onsite to prevent this behaviour and have been working closely with them on strategies for our event.”
Last year police responded to a number of allegations of sexual assault at the festival.
It is understood plain-clothed police will be patrolling throughout mosh pits at this year’s event, with Senior Sergeant Hodge confirming the safety of punters was the top priority.
“While we appreciate that the majority of people attending the festival will behave responsibly, we reinforce to patrons not to let their behaviour ruin the event for others,” he said.
“We ask everyone to be respectful and considerate of others, especially in the mosh pit.”
Police will be conducting traffic management in response to the increased volume of vehicles traveling to and from the festival.
A large scale random breath test operation will also be carried out.
Sorell Council has authorised checkpoints at Marion Bay Road, Bream Creek Road, Burnt Hill Road and Wielangta Forest Road, starting from 7am on Friday as well as a number of temporary speed restrictions.
“Our aim is to get everyone home safely and that includes testing drivers and removing those affected by alcohol and drugs from the roads,” Sergeant Hodge said.
Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
