Efficacy of Western Australia's Protected Entertainment Precincts legislation questioned

While the Western Australian Government has introduced the Liquor Control Amendment (Protected Entertainment Precincts) Bill 2022 in Parliament, its efficacy in enhancing the safety of the established precincts has been questioned.

The legislation will see violent offenders and perpetrators of antisocial behaviour banned from entertainment precincts for a mandatory five years if convicted of murder, sexual penetration without consent, unlawful assault causing death or drink spiking offences.

Protected Entertainment Precincts (PEP) will be established in Northbridge-Perth, Fremantle, Scarborough, Hillarys and Mandurah.

PEP are named in honour of Giuseppe "Pep" Raco, the victim of an unprovoked one-punch attack in Northbridge in July 2020. The State Government started developing the Bill following a campaign from the Raco family to strengthen laws around violent offences in entertainment precincts.

However, the West Australian is reporting the legislation to be “lazy”, providing only a bandaid solution to the real problems and noting “if the PEP legislation is meant to be a deterrent, it fails on most levels, given that these types of crimes are largely opportunistic and, except for drink spiking, are rarely pre-meditated. These crimes are largely driven by excessive alcohol and/or drug consumption and are committed when rational thinking and reason are seriously impaired.”

According to the West Australian,”observers have cast doubt on the ability of police to properly enforce the PEP bans, raising questions about how offenders will be identified and tracked.”

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch advised back in September that existing 24-hour move-on notices were not a strong enough deterrent for some offenders and said exclusion order decisions would be made using body-worn camera footage, CCTV and reports from the officer on the ground.

“It’s a collective that makes a decision with the advice from the officer on the ground as to whether or not an exclusion order is appropriate,” he said.

While it is commendable to see the Police Commissioner reassuring us about how well trained his officers are, the West Australian considers his claim to be unconvincing and questions “are we expected to believe that of the thousands of people in a PEP at night that a newly graduated officer will know who is banned and who is not? ‘

WA Racing and Gaming Minister Tony Buti considers the legislation will effectively address the community’s concerns and states that it is “drawing a line on anti-social behaviour - if you do the wrong thing, you won't be allowed in our entertainment precincts.

"Tragedies have occurred and families have been broken. Now the State Government is doing something about it.

"Ultimately the Western Australian public deserve to be able to enjoy these precincts with the knowledge that convicted criminals, violent thugs, rapists and drink spikers are not allowed back in.

 "This legislation targets violent and anti-social behaviour while still ensuring that people who are doing the right thing are free to enjoy themselves."