Twenty-two reports of domestic violence and eight assaults marred an otherwise quiet Christmas and Boxing Day for Dubbo’s police.
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Orana Mid-Western Police District Inspector Daniel Skelly spent both days on duty and was overall “very happy” with people’s behaviour.
But it “could have been better”.
“We always expect some domestic matters on a Christmas Day,” Inspector Skelly said.
“Most are alcohol-related, and it’s to do with seeing family members you may not have seen for a while.”
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The consumption of alcohol could see disagreements get out of hand, Inspector Skelly said, and escalations often led to neighbours calling the police.
“Most of it’s consumed responsibly, unfortunately some isn’t and those are the incidents that we get called to,” he said.
Police also responded to one report of shoplifting on Boxing Day – fewer than Inspector Skelly had anticipated.
The city’s firefighters also reported a “fairly quiet” festive period, but urged caution over a hot weekend.
“People just need to be vigilant with fire safety,” firefighter Brendan Young said.
“Just watch out for whether it’s a total fire ban or not.”
Meanwhile the city’s motorists have been well-behaved, with Inspector Skelly reporting “a fairly quiet period” on the roads.
“We’ve done 1200 breath tests and only detected a few low range, no high speeds, no crashes,” he said.
“So generally speaking, police are very happy with the behaviour of drivers over the holidays.”