CBD Policing & Behaviour

[claybro]

Was in Adelaide last week for the first time in nearly 3 years. Wow guys. Adelaide is changing. The buildings like these really frame the streets. The mall was buzzing, the railway station and casino precinct.. all look amazing. It feels more vibrant than prior to Covid, and everyone I spoke to seems proud and excited. Even my perennial hate, the Charles Sturt Council had done an amazing job tidying up the Port Road median. Well done Adelaide. Just on a side note though.. the usual groups congregating along North Terrace really bring the boulevard down.. particularly at night. Drunk, brawling, vomit abusing passers by. These groups will turn it into a no go zone if left unchecked, as they have in Perth where they are destroying the desire for most to enter the CBD. Please don’t let it happen there.

[Mpol02]

What groups are these?

[Llessur2002]

Presumably the groups of indigenous people that congregate on North Terrace most evenings.

Whilst I fully acknowledge the social issues which have lead to this sad situation I agree that something needs to be done from a safety perspective - the footpaths on both sides of North Terrace are covered with broken glass, blood and vomit most mornings whilst I walk to work and the whole area around the war memorial just stinks of urine almost permanently.

I walk/drag my kids to childcare along this section of footpath some days and have to be super vigilant they don't cut their feet on glass or walk through bodily fluids. It's not an ideal situation from any perspective although I'll admit to having no idea what the short-term solution could be other than increased policing and cleaning.

[Will]

You would imagine such behavior to be illegal.

I also have 2 small children, and felt threatened and unsafe walking them to the museum recently.

However, I suspect the authorities are too timid to do anything, in fear of provoking the outrage happy woke brigade.

[HiTouch]

Reading these comments makes me ask the question of whether any of you actually spoken to an aboriginal person in your lives?

It’s far more complicated then you think. A lot of these people who hang out on North Terrace have actually been moved from Alice Springs and NT by the territory government. They’re displaced. If you had a traumatic situation and then to top it off some NT authority figure moved you to a random town away from your family. You’ be struggling as well and you’d be looking for some people that you knew from your community. Unfortunately yes, some of them are heavily involved in crime but its still important not to paint this community with the same brush.

I know it might not be a good look aesthetically either but as a city that is considered the gateway to the outback, it means that sometimes those outback issues spill over. It’s very clear that Outback and rural communities in SA and the NT are dying and neither political party are doing anything about it. Some authorities find it easier to move these people away from their community and call it cleaning up the streets.

[Llessur2002]

As per my post, I fully acknowledge the social issues that have resulted in this sad situation. I am aware that no one would likely choose to be in the position that these groups find themselves in, nor are there any easy answers or quick fixes. However, the fact that these hazards have been left by disadvantaged groups does not lower the risk level that they pose to the public and should not limit discussion of the matter.

The issue being discussed is one of safety - the footpaths on one of our busiest streets are littered with broken glass, blood, vomit, urine and food waste on an almost daily basis. Unlike Rundle Mall which seems to be deep cleaned several times per day, I often walk past the same material on my way home at 5pm that I did at 8:30am.

To me this is unacceptable. If a solution to the underlying problem cannot be found then steps should be taken by the local council to make the area safe and promptly remove hazards from the footpath.

[Mpol02]

Reading these comments makes me ask the question of whether any of you actually spoken to an aboriginal person in your lives?

It’s far more complicated then you think. A lot of these people who hang out on North Terrace have actually been moved from Alice Springs and NT by the territory government. They’re displaced. If you had a traumatic situation and then to top it off some NT authority figure moved you to a random town away from your family. You’ be struggling as well and you’d be looking for some people that you knew from your community. Unfortunately yes, some of them are heavily involved in crime but its still important not to paint this community with the same brush.

I know it might not be a good look aesthetically either but as a city that is considered the gateway to the outback, it means that sometimes those outback issues spill over. It’s very clear that Outback and rural communities in SA and the NT are dying and neither political party are doing anything about it. Some authorities find it easier to move these people away from their community and call it cleaning up the streets.

Very this. Thank you

Where’s the conversation to be had about the abusive Tradies sitting at the Rosemont. On more than one occasion I’ve been verbally harassed and called a faggot and always feel unsafe. At one time I almost got assaulted. Thank god the police were near by. It’s the same group at the same time in the same place.

Where’s the discussion about the violent and abusive Christian protesters. I don’t know if they still harass people but the Police did shit to get rid of them for many years. Where is the outrage?

And while where at it what about the trash Adelaide residents who go to Hindley street every weekend and have massive brawls and assault each other? It’s much more unsafe than any group of indigenous people. At one point it was every weekend and there were numerous stabbings.

Sorry the selfish white boomer age have a terribly short and selective memory.

[Nort]

Yeah, this discussion is way off topic for this thread.

For my 2 cents though, any solution which just involves moving people along isn't a solution at all. If the ways in which our society continues to fail are going to be visible, it's also apt that it is visible right next to state parliament.

[Algernon]

[Patrick_27]

Reading these comments makes me ask the question of whether any of you actually spoken to an aboriginal person in your lives?

It’s far more complicated then you think. A lot of these people who hang out on North Terrace have actually been moved from Alice Springs and NT by the territory government. They’re displaced. If you had a traumatic situation and then to top it off some NT authority figure moved you to a random town away from your family. You’ be struggling as well and you’d be looking for some people that you knew from your community. Unfortunately yes, some of them are heavily involved in crime but its still important not to paint this community with the same brush.

I know it might not be a good look aesthetically either but as a city that is considered the gateway to the outback, it means that sometimes those outback issues spill over. It’s very clear that Outback and rural communities in SA and the NT are dying and neither political party are doing anything about it. Some authorities find it easier to move these people away from their community and call it cleaning up the streets.

Very this. Thank you

Where’s the conversation to be had about the abusive Tradies sitting at the Rosemont. On more than one occasion I’ve been verbally harassed and called a faggot and always feel unsafe. At one time I almost got assaulted. Thank god the police were near by. It’s the same group at the same time in the same place.

Where’s the discussion about the violent and abusive Christian protesters. I don’t know if they still harass people but the Police did shit to get rid of them for many years. Where is the outrage?

And while where at it what about the trash Adelaide residents who go to Hindley street every weekend and have massive brawls and assault each other? It’s much more unsafe than any group of indigenous people. At one point it was every weekend and there were numerous stabbings.

Sorry the selfish white boomer age have a terribly short and selective memory.

Yes to everything above.

I think some of the commentary further up the page is little exaggerated. I work at the Museum, or to be more specific, I work at Museum's coffee cart installation on North Terrace by the main thoroughfare most mornings and I have never on my walk to work seen blood or vomit anywhere along the stretch of North Terrance that I walk along. RE: the violence, the indigenous folk that we're referring to are actually really friendly and keep mostly to themselves. The regular police presence along seems to be more a case of over-policing the area and pulling this group up for just about anything, sure, they're not always without violence but generally speaking it's kept amongst themselves. Now, if we want to talk about anti-social behaviour that represents a stain on the reputation of Adelaide, look no further than the revellers of Hindley Street and the Casino precinct. I have seen more blood, vomit and urine in that area after a Friday and Saturday night than I have on the area this discussion is referring to...

[Bob]

Sorry but I can’t accept a couple of the comments made here - anyone who says the aboriginal anti-social behaviour is not a problem on North Terrace is nonexistent are either kidding themselves, got blinkers on, or a keyboard do-gooder. This has been building momentum for the past few years, I have seen it regularly first hand both on weekdays and on weekends. Why don’t people call it for what it is and find a solution, rather than not wanting to address the issue, because it might offend someone?

What's more frustrating is that bodies like SA Police, charities such as Anglicare, Adelaide Zero Project and even the Premier in his other role, have been discussing the anti-social behaviour of rough sleeping aboriginals for the past few years, initially because of the escalated incidents in Whitmore Square, but that has now also migrated to this stretch of North Terrace.

People walking on egg shells so not to offend anyone rather than taking the issue head on. And no one is deny it is not a complex issue, but it's one that needs addressing.

[Llessur2002]

I think some of the commentary further up the page is little exaggerated. I work at the Museum, or to be more specific, I work at Museum's coffee cart installation on North Terrace by the main thoroughfare most mornings and I have never on my walk to work seen blood or vomit anywhere along the stretch of North Terrance that I walk along...

...look no further than the revellers of Hindley Street and the Casino precinct. I have seen more blood, vomit and urine in that area after a Friday and Saturday night than I have on the area this discussion is referring to...

The area I am talking about is the stretch between KWS and Gawler Place/Kintore Avenue - next time try walking on the southern side of North Terrace and take a look around all of the doorways/stairs into the Myer Centre and adjacent buildings. There is a reason the cleaning staff of those buildings are outside every day at 8am cleaning and disinfecting.

The walkway on the northern side of NT between the wall of the Government House grounds and the stretch of lawn is also bad - many of the seats are unusable at any given time because of the deposits on them.

Have you noticed how the war memorial is hosed down inside and out pretty much every morning? There is a good reason for that.

Take a walk around the back of the war memorial towards the Government House walls and note the strong smell of urine - despite there being a public toilet being located about 20m away.

I've walked or cycled this stretch of footpath nearly every weekday for the last 6 years (lockdown period excepted) and the problem is definitely escalating. On any given day I'll generally either have bike tyres or kids' feet to worry about so I'm very aware of what's on the footpath in front of me.

For me this isn't a dig at certain groups - we are all citizens of this country and they have as much right to use the space as I do. This is a cleaning issue - the ACC must know this problem exists and yet with the exception of the war memorial it seems low down on their list of priorities to sort. Hopefully this won't continue to be the case when the streetscape upgrades are completed.

And yes, I am aware similar issues exist on Hindley Street - although it could be argued that being an entertainment strip some related debris could be expected. NT is supposed to be our cultural boulevard so I would have thought it would receive a little more attention than it does. I also note that the footpath cleaning machines are out on Hindley Street several times a week in the early hours of the morning but I rarely see them on NT.

[claybro]

I think some of the commentary further up the page is little exaggerated. I work at the Museum, or to be more specific, I work at Museum's coffee cart installation on North Terrace by the main thoroughfare most mornings and I have never on my walk to work seen blood or vomit anywhere along the stretch of North Terrance that I walk along...

...look no further than the revellers of Hindley Street and the Casino precinct. I have seen more blood, vomit and urine in that area after a Friday and Saturday night than I have on the area this discussion is referring to...

The area I am talking about is the stretch between KWS and Gawler Place/Kintore Avenue - next time try walking on the southern side of North Terrace and take a look around all of the doorways/stairs into the Myer Centre and adjacent buildings. There is a reason the cleaning staff of those buildings are outside every day at 8am cleaning and disinfecting.

The walkway on the northern side of NT between the wall of the Government House grounds and the stretch of lawn is also bad - many of the seats are unusable at any given time because of the deposits on them.

Have you noticed how the war memorial is hosed down inside and out pretty much every morning? There is a good reason for that.

Take a walk around the back of the war memorial towards the Government House walls and note the strong smell of urine - despite there being a public toilet being located about 20m away.

I've walked or cycled this stretch of footpath nearly every weekday for the last 6 years (lockdown period excepted) and the problem is definitely escalating. On any given day I'll generally either have bike tyres or kids' feet to worry about so I'm very aware of what's on the footpath in front of me.

For me this isn't a dig at certain groups - we are all citizens of this country and they have as much right to use the space as I do. This is a cleaning issue - the ACC must know this problem exists and yet with the exception of the war memorial it seems low down on their list of priorities to sort. Hopefully this won't continue to be the case when the streetscape upgrades are completed.

And yes, I am aware similar issues exist on Hindley Street - although it could be argued that being an entertainment strip some related debris could be expected. NT is supposed to be our cultural boulevard so I would have thought it would receive a little more attention than it does. I also note that the footpath cleaning machines are out on Hindley Street several times a week in the early hours of the morning but I rarely see them on NT.

I can only contribute to this from a tourist point of view from myself being an expat and compare to similar problems in Perth-which is now way out of hand to the point here where the CBD after 5 is dead.
My observations were made both Thursday afternoon-along the Government House section of North Terrace, and the War memorial, drunken unruly and aggressive behaviour at around 2pm. And again at 8pm on Friday evening same issues around the corner of Nth Tce and KW Street and across from the Casino. Anecdotally I also walked along some of Hindley street at around this time, and saw a few vagrants-yes, but nowhere near the same issues. I don't care what group or groups are involved-it made me as a tourist feel unsafe in these locations in an otherwise beautiful and vibrant city- as it would any international student. And if we are to attract international students back to fill these godawful towers, and promote a safe vibrant CBD then we'd better get much better at sorting out the issues and quickly. Perhaps in an Aboriginal context, maybe the elders could be more accountable as part of the solution? Just blaming the problem on some other jurisdiction moving groups on, or minimising the problem, or calling out of certain groups thinly veiled racism, is not helping anyone, and is just a cop out from dealing with the fundamental law and order issues.

[Algernon]

Woke police on the way

[Jaymz]

I live between Whitmore Square and the south parklands so I'm interested in this discussion.

Having said that, I think it needs to be moved to another thread, I think it's even deserving of a dedicated one on the topic?