RIOT ARSENAL FOR SYDNEY

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30487, 8 July 1964, Page 17

RIOT ARSENAL FOR SYDNEY

(Special Crspdt. N.Z.P.A.) SYDNEY, July 7. A new vehicle called the “Battle Waggon” joined the Sydney C. 1.8. this week. It contains equipment which even James Bond, the hero of lan Fleming’s novels, would approve. Among its equipment are machine-guns, tear-gas guns and shells, bulet proof vests for the men who take it into action, sirens, flashing lights, and fire extinguishers. The “Battle Waggon” will be manned by six hand-picked members of the C.1.8.’s riot squad. Sydney’s “Death Squad,” a

special new traffic patrol, caught more than 250 offenders during their first week on duty. The bookings were all for serious traffic offences—negligent driving, drunken driving, excessive speed and other breaches, which, according to police, are the most likely to cause road deaths.

The new squad comprises four radio cars with two policemen to each—in civilian clothes. Some motorists have criticised the squad as being “sneaky,” but the acting superintendent of traffic, Mr A. J. McCloskey said: “If a resident is out to catch someone stealing his milk money, does he boldly show himself to the thief?”

The suggestion that “breathalysers” be introduced into

Queensland to help catch drivers who have drunk liquor, has been strongly opposed by the State’s Minister for Main Roads (Mr E. Evans). Mr Evans, chairman of a special Cabinet sub-commit-tee set up to consider new moves to halt the State’s rising death toll on the roads, said he would oppose the introduction of the breathalysers on the grounds of freedom of the individual. “We still have some freedoms left, you know. And the freedoms we have are pretty sacred freedoms. We want to stop reckless driving, but I won’t be a party to hounding people,” he said, commenting on the question. “There are good policemen who apply commonsense to their jobs and there

are policemen who just want convictions. Once you let breathalysers in, who knows where it will stop? The gaols would all be full.”

Some Queensland traffic police have come out in favour of snap checks at clubs and hotels to subject drinkers to breathalyser tests as they get into their cars. But Mr Evans disagrees. “You could take a breathalyser to pretty well any hotel or club in the State any afternoon in the week and perhaps arrest half of the people there,” he said. Mr Evans said that, in his opinion, the best results in the search for a method of decreasing the number of accidents would be to increase the minimum penalties to such a level as to make punishment hurt.