NSW: Record police numbers to keep New Year's Eve safe

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NSW: Record police numbers to keep New Year's Eve safe

By Kim Arlington

SYDNEY, Dec 30 AAP - A record number of police will patrol New Year's Eve celebrationsacross NSW, Premier Bob Carr said today.

The community "should be assured that NSW police will be around and about in largenumbers - record numbers in fact", Mr Carr said.

The increased numbers, bolstered by 685 recent graduates from the NSW Police Academyin Goulburn, would ensure celebrations were not dampened by security worries, Mr Carrsaid.

The premier visited the police security control centre in Sydney today for a briefingon the New Year's Eve operation.

"The key to New Year's Eve is that there will be high visibility policing," he said.

"There will be police in large numbers moving right across Sydney and in other partsof the state where we expect an increase in visitor numbers."

Mr Carr said the public had become used to the "heightened state of security" sincethe Bali bombings and would not be alarmed by the strong police presence.

"I think the public overwhelmingly finds it reassuring that there are large policenumbers, especially on an occasion like this," he said.

"The presence of large police numbers has a deterrent effect, not only to criminalbehaviour but to anti-social behaviour, and it guarantees families who are visiting thesesites a quick police response."

Commander of the New Year's Eve police operation, Assistant Commissioner Dick Adams,said the Sydney CBD would be closed to all traffic but emergency vehicles.

He said police would have the capacity to search any vehicles found in the trafficexclusion zone and "to search bags of groups of people if the risk indicates that we shoulddo so".

However, he emphasised that no specific threats had been made in the lead up to the celebrations.

"There is no specific threat in Sydney for this New Year's Eve and should the threatlevel increase then of course we'll make the appropriate public announcements and changeour plans accordingly," Assistant Commissioner Adams said.

"There will be large numbers of police on duty and they will be backed up by largenumbers of specialist police.

"We will be able to handle anything that might happen on the night but, once again,there is no specific threat."

Mr Carr said any updated security information provided by federal authorities would"be shared with the public if it's considered a serious risk warning that people oughtto weigh".

He encouraged revellers "to have a great time in the normal fashion and not to be respondingto rumours or leaping at shadows".

Assistant Commissioner Adams said any suspicious objects or suspect behaviour shouldbe reported to the police.

"The thing is be alert, but don't be afraid," he said.

AAP ka/arb/las/sb

KEYWORD: EVE POLICE