Statistics back curfew in CBD

A NIGHT on the town in Bendigo is as safe as it’s ever been, police statistics show.Bendigo police have reported zero assaults in the night-life district last month for the first time in recent memory.No night-time CBD assaults were reported to police between 6 pm and 7 am Thursday to Sunday.The city has seemingly experienced an overall drop in CBD violence at night since the introduction of the 2 am lockout last September.After 2 am patrons cannot move between licensed venues.Police statistics show 14 assaults have been reported in the CBD at night since November - a 33 per cent drop on the previous corresponding period.Acting Inspector Bob Simpson said it was too early to tell if the lockout was responsible for our safer streets.‘‘What these stats do is give us is a good indication that it’s (the lockout) having an effect,’’ he said.‘‘I think the licensees are finding the security at their hotels a lot easier to manage, and certainly the number of people remaining in the streets after 2 am is starting to become fairly minimal.’’Officer in charge of the Bendigo police station, Senior Sergeant Grant Morris, said his officers had enjoyed working under the lockout.‘‘Anecdotally the reports I’ve been getting back are that it’s having a positive effect because the streets are much quieter,’’ he said.‘‘But certainly we know it’s not the panacea - it’s only ever going to ever be part of the solution.’’Acting Inspector Simpson said police and Bendigo Council hoped to introduce new by-laws to clamp down on unruly behaviour in the street.There would also be more uniform patrols in the streets at night.Black Swan Hotel licensee Andreas Bazzani yesterday reported a similar level of anti-social behaviour since the lockout was installed.He welcomed the assault-free January but said the first year of the month typically attracted little night life.‘‘I see things down on the ground level, and I haven’t seen a marked improvement since the curfew (lockout) came in,’’ he said.The 2 am lockout will be reviewed early in 2009.