Police wish for Christmas safety

By Paul Dunlop
POLICE have urged Pakenham residents to keep a sensible lid on festive celebrations, saying their one wish for Christmas is to keep local roads fatality-free.
On the eve of the busiest time of year, police are preparing to cut a very high profile on the streets and on major roads.
Police are also hoping that people will heed warnings against drink driving and other anti-social behaviour before they find themselves in trouble.
Pakenham sergeant Chris Marlow said several operations would run during the festive season in a bid to minimise incidents on roads and to keep celebrations incident free.
He said police were not being “wowsers”, but simply wanted to ensure residents had a happy and safe Christmas.
“Police will be out on the highway and at other noted hotspots in marked and unmarked vehicles conducting random breath checks, vehicle intercepts and checking licence and registration details,” Sgt Marlow said.
“The operations will be ongoing over the festive season.
“There will also be uniform and plain-clothed police around town and patrolling the streets in a bid to discourage any drunk and disorderly or anti-social behaviour.
“We know there are a lot of work break-ups and end-of-year functions at this time of year. We don’t want people not to enjoy themselves, but we hope they do so in a responsible manner.
“Our wish is to keep Christmas a happy and joyful time, not a tragic time.”