CCTV call after attack on cops
A PACK assault on police officers in Byron Bay by a group of drunks has renewed the call for closed circuit television cameras to be installed in the town.
On Thursday night police used capsicum spray to subdue a group of drunk men on Jonson St after they attacked the officers.
A 24-year-old Suffolk Park man was charged with obstructing police and will appear in Byron Bay Court on May 10. More arrests are expected.
Tweed Byron Local Area Command Superintendent Stuart Wilkins said violence against police in Byron was not uncommon and the latest attack justified Byron Shire Council revisiting its decision to reject CCTV cameras in the town.
Byron United president and member of Byron Bay Liquor Accord Paul Waters said both organisations supported installing cameras.
He blamed the violence on carloads of young men who visited Byron on weekends from surrounding towns.
Byron Mayor Jan Barham said she would invite police to a public meeting to discuss the best way to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence in Byron Bay.
Ms Barham questioned the use of cameras as a deterrent because generally they were not monitored and were used mostly to gather evidence once crime had occurred.
She said a lockdown of licensed venues after 1am had worked in Newcastle and the same approach would work in Byron, but it had been rejected by the local business community.
