ALCOHOL-RELATED assaults against police in Orange are five times the state average.
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Almost three-quarters of the 49 assaults against police that occurred in Orange in 2012 involved alcohol.
Canobolas Local Area Command Superintendent David Driver said the high figure did not surprise him.
“There is a frustration among the officers that the figure is so high,” he said.
“There’s a frustration that police have to put up with drunken fools.”
Alcohol-related assaults in Orange are more than double the state average.
In 2012 there were 297 alcohol-related assaults in Orange, including domestic violence, non-domestic violence and assaults against police officers.
More than 40 per cent of all non-domestic violence related assaults were alcohol-related incidents, meaning the offender had at least one drink in the hour before the assault.
Superintendent Driver said alcohol contributed significantly to the workload of Orange police officers.
He said police were seeking assistance from the community to help promote a safer environment on the streets of Orange.
“It’s no surprise that’s why we’ve been in discussions with the crime prevention committee and licensees about trying to reduce that number,” Superintendent Driver said.
Of the 372 recorded non-domestic violence related assaults last year, 42.5 per cent involved alcohol, which was a 3.2 per cent increase from the last quarterly report released by the Bureau in September.
However, the Bureau recorded that there was no significant increase in these assaults since January 2008.
Orange was also 2.3 times the state average for alcohol-related offensive behaviour and 1.8 times the state average for alcohol-related domestic violence.
nicole.kuter@fairfaxmedia.com.au