SA Police have thanked the public for helping make New Year’s Eve 2021 a generally peaceful event and maintaining a high level of cooperation with police throughout the evening.
Some of the traditional events were not able to return this year however the warm weather drew big crowds around the coastal areas and the Adelaide Oval saw a reduced crowd of 9000 at the Big Bash League match where the Adelaide Strikers took on the Sydney Thunder.
Before the New Year’s celebrations commenced, police advised they would not tolerate anti-social and disorderly behaviour and a highly visible police presence would be utilised in the traditionally popular areas.
Assistant Commissioner, State Operations Service, Ian Parrott said,
“Due to the ongoing COVID environment, like in 2021, we knew New Year’s Eve would again look different to previous years,'
"However, it was clear that many people would be keen to get out and connect with loved ones and friends, or simply close the chapter of what has been another challenging year”
“Most people were keen to enjoy the night and to do the right thing, with only a few people making poor choices”
Overall there were 57 arrests made across the state and 41 people reported for mainly traffic offences.
A total of 113 expiation notices were issued for offences including possession of drugs, possessing or consuming alcohol in a dry zone and behavioural offences.
This is an increase from last year which saw 49 arrests, 6 people reported and 41 expiation notices issued for behavioural offences. However, there were far fewer New Year's Eve events planned last year with many cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions and concerns.
Over 1367 drug and alcohol tests were conducted with 44 positive results to alcohol and 11 positive drug tests. These numbers are in comparison to last year which saw 43 people caught drink driving and 25 people testing positive for drugs.
The highest recorded drink driving results over the operation were a 36-year-old Gawler West man who recorded a result of 0.219 and a Clare man who recorded a result of 0.203 both were four times over the legal limit.
SAPOL continues to urge people to be responsible on the roads given that 99 lives were lost on SA roads in 2021.