SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's binge-drinking culture has been starkly highlighted with 1,600 "boozed-up idiots" arrested by police in a hardline weekend crackdown on alcohol-fuelled violence and crime.
The trans-Tasman "Operation Unite", a two-day blitz on public alcohol abuse and related crime that ended Sunday, was the latest attempt to hammer home the message that drunken thugs will not be tolerated.
Almost two-thirds of the arrests were made in New South Wales state, followed by Western Australia, and included numerous assaults on police officers.
Other offences included drink-driving, urinating in public, failing to quit a licensed premises when asked and resisting arrest.
The Police Association of NSW slammed the "chaos and mayhem" that it says prevails in Australian cities every weekend and called for new strategies to attack the root causes of alcohol-related violence.
"Operation Unite has proved that our culture of alcohol and violence is out of control, with boozed-up idiots running wild all over the country," the association's acting president Pat Gooley said in a statement.
"We need a comprehensive strategy for tackling alcohol-fuelled violence -- one that addresses the causes of the problem, not just the symptoms."
Operation Unite's commander, Assistant Commissioner Denis Clifford, said that despite the cold weather there were still many people out drinking to excess.
"Until people start getting the message, we'll continue to target licensed premises, we'll continue to target excessive alcohol consumption and we'll continue to put people before the courts," he said.
In New Zealand, where Operation Unite was also conducted, 338 alcohol-related arrests were made and 467 motorists returned positive breath tests.
New Zealand police spokesman, acting Detective Superintendent Ross Grantham, said it would take more than a weekend of action to change the drinking culture.
"Shifting away from the drink-to-get-drunk culture needs parents, retailers, community and other interested groups to be actively involved," he said.
"All we're asking is that people, no matter what their age, make safe and sensible choices when and where they decide to have a drink."
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