Sydney New Year's Eve: extra 3,000 police to patrol city | Australia news | The GuardianSydney New Year's Eve: extra 3,000 police to patrol city | Australia news | The Guardian










Close






Skip to main content

 









sign in








subscribe









search




jobs






more


from the guardian:


jobs


change edition:



switch to the UK edition


switch to the AU edition







US edition




switch to the UK edition




switch to the Australia edition













The Guardian


Winner of the Pulitzer prize











home


›
world


›
australia




UK


europe


americas


asia


middle east


africa










home




US




world
selected




opinion




sports




soccer




tech




arts




lifestyle




fashion




business




money




travel




environment







browse all sections
close







 











Sydney



Sydney New Year's Eve: extra 3,000 police to patrol city









NSW police say additional officers will be out in force to help the expected 1.5 million revellers feel safe in the aftermath of Lindt cafe siege, but that the biggest threat remained alcohol-related violence, rather than terrorism

















New Year’s Eve fireworks over Sydney Harbour seen from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. Photograph: Nikki Short/AAP



Australian Associated Press


Friday 26 December 2014 21.43 EST







Share on Facebook







Share on Twitter







Share via Email







Share on LinkedIn







Share on Google+







Share on WhatsApp
















An extra 3,000 police officers will be out on Sydney’s streets on New Year’s Eve to ensure revellers feel safe after this month’s deadly CBD siege. 
NSW police Assistant Commissioner Mick Fuller said there would be more than “3,000 additional police out to ensure New Year’s Eve is a safe and family-friendly event”. 
“We’ll see police in the air, on the waterways and of course, in uniform ... to make sure Sydneysiders feel extremely safe coming out to enjoy New Year’s Eve.” 
He said planning for New Year’s Eve so far had not been affected by the siege at the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place earlier this month. 
“We’re always looking for intelligence that may change the state of play, but at this stage the planning has gone ahead as it was the month before, and the month before that,” Fuller said on Saturday, adding that “nothing has changed other than the way we brief police”. 
He said his message to those feeling worried about coming into the CBD was that “it’s safe to come into the city, police will be out in record numbers to protect you”. 
Sydney lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38, Lindt cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, and 50-year-old gunman Man Haron Monis died in the siege that ended on 16 December when heavily armed police stormed the Lindt cafe.
The hostage emergency came after Australia’s terror threat level was raised to high in September following a string of counter terrorism raids across Sydney and Brisbane. 
Fuller said police had ramped up intelligence activities since the increased terror alert, and there was a new evacuation plan for Sydney city this New Year’s Eve. 
“I won’t discuss the information in relation to that but if there was an incident we certainly have some information points and a strategy,” he said. 
He said recent hoax emails outlining a potential terror threat in Sydney on NYE had been “put to bed as rubbish”. 
He said there was no terror-related chatter police were aware of relating to New Year’s Eve. 
Mounted police, riot squad, PolAir, tactical operations officers and counter-terrorism police would all be deployed in Sydney on the night “to deal with anything that may arise”. 
He expected around 1.5 million people to attend the city on the night, noting that usually the big problem was alcohol-related crime. 
“We can’t forget the fact that alcohol-related crime and the problems that come with that have been the biggest challenge for Sydney,” Fuller said. 
“It’s a much much bigger threat than terrorism.”



Topics



Sydney




Australian police and policing




Sydney siege




New year








Share on Facebook







Share on Twitter







Share via Email







Share on LinkedIn







Share on Google+







Share on WhatsApp



















 






related content












popular












 








The Guardian






back to top














home




US




world
selected




opinion




sports




soccer




tech




arts




lifestyle




fashion




business




money




travel




environment







all sections
close







home




US




world
selected




UK




europe




americas




asia




middle east




africa




australia
selected






opinion




sports




soccer




MLS




NFL




MLB




NBA




NHL






soccer




live scores




tables




competitions




results




fixtures




clubs






tech




games






arts




movies




tv & radio




music




books




art & design




stage




classical






lifestyle




food




health




love & sex




family




women




home & garden






fashion




business




markets




companies






money




travel




USA




europe




UK






environment




development




cities






science




media




crosswords




video











World




›
Australia




›
Sydney








jobs

subscribe
all topics
all contributors

info and resources

contact us

feedback

complaints & corrections
terms & conditions
privacy policy
cookie policy
securedrop


© 2015 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.






















 
