Hedland police put revellers on notice

With Port Hedland’s event list slowly growing, police have warned revellers to stick to drinking laws or risk being fined.

Port Hedland police officer-in-charge Jayd Morawski said police would have a significant presence at upcoming events, particularly with the annual Halloween bash this weekend.

“As a whole, this year has been great,” he said.

“We’ve set a standard that we expect to uphold and that is to ensure public safety.

“We’re there to maintain safety and sometimes that means making decisions for people that are intoxicated that can’t make a smart decision at the time.

“We don’t apologise for doing that; we try to think, with the benefit of hindsight, for these people, being these things happen.”

Much like the racing calendar and other significant events this year such as the North West Festival, Sgt Morawski said police would help licensees and security personnel keep the peace.

“If people rock up pre-loaded and with open vessels they won’t get in and you’re getting a fine,” he said.

“Please don’t make us write a ticket, but we will if we have to.”

The warning comes after about 100 revellers were ejected from the annual Okt-oberfest and 11 were refused entry.