Police focus on responsible drinking campaign

ACT Policing is continuing its marketing campaign to encourage the responsible consumption of alcohol among patrons of nightclubs and bars in Canberra's entertainment districts of Civic, Kingston and Manuka.

The "Where are you staying tonight?" campaign was first rolled out in late December 2007, when ACT Regional Beat Team patrols combined with other key stakeholders in a campaign aimed at awareness and enforcement of liquor licensing and responsible service of alcohol provisions.

The new campaign, which kicked off on May 1, follows the same theme as before but adopts a more hard-hitting approach.

The realistic 15-second television advertisement is filmed outside a city nightclub and shows police attending an incident, with an unidentified male being taken into custody in the back of a caged vehicle by Beats officers. No actors are used in the filming and the TV advertisement is supported by coasters and posters sharing the same message.

The ad will be shown during NRL and AFL football games and supporting shows, such as The Footy Show, over the next four weeks, focussing on getting the message of responsible alcohol consumption most specifically to males in the 18-25 year-old age group.

ACT Beats' Senior Constable Max Mokrij said that young men in this general age category are by far the largest single group which cause behavioural issues – often related to alcohol and/or drugs – for the police who patrol the city's entertainment areas at night.

"We need to get the simple message out there, particularly to those young blokes who drink to excess and then become aggressive or anti-social, that sort of behaviour will not be tolerated by police and you will be taken into custody," Sen Constable Mokrij said.

"It comes down to the need for everyone to bear responsibility for their actions, and to recognise how anti-social behaviour and the over-consumption of alcohol has an impact on their personal safety, that of their friends, and the people around them.

"If this campaign makes people stop and think twice about behaving badly, then it has achieved its goal."