Another SA precinct gives police sweeping powers
Another declared precinct gives SA Police widespread powers to conduct searches and ban people, as the state government continues to expand its tough-on-crime agenda.
From tomorrow, SA Police will have extra powers in the Glenelg entertainment district, with Moseley Square, Glenelg Jetty and the tram stop on the popular strip marked as part of a Declared Public Precinct.
The extra powers given to police in Declared Public Precincts include the right to conduct metal detector searches to find weapons and drug searches. Police can also ban a person from the area for up to 24 hours if they commit an offence, are offensive or behave in a disorderly manner.
It comes about two weeks after police brought forward its Operation Jericho across the western suburbs coastline to crack down on disorderly behaviour after videos emerged online of young people fighting at Henley Square and Glenelg.
Operation Jericho increases police numbers in the area and focuses on offending around licensed beachside bars and restaurants.
Since Operation Jericho began on October 2, SA Police said there have been three arrests, one report, 21 fines given, one defect, seven blood alcohol tests, and 10 persons wanded on or in the vicinity of a licensed premises.
The declared area in Glenelg was approved by Attorney General Kyam Maher and would take effect until April 2027, Operation Jericho also ends in April.
Extra powers apply for 12 hours each day from 3pm each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and for 12 hours from 6pm until 6am on New Years Eve and New Years Day.
New power granted over the past few years also give police powers to search people in 18 South Australian shopping centres with the rules continued until next year, and a Declared Public Precinct covering Adelaide CBD, including Rundle Mall, has been renewed until January 9, 2027.
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The city precinct was established in 2023 and stretches from West Terrace to Pulteney Street and North Terrace to Currie Street, as well as a section between Montefiore Road and King William Street, which includes Parliament House, the Adelaide Festival Centre and Elder Park.
SA Police Assistant Commissioner David O’Donovan said today that “proactive and preventative policing is an important part of how we keep the public safe”.
“We know this area is very popular with families and it becomes particularly busy during the summer months. This is another measure police can use to prevent any antisocial or dangerous behaviour occurring,” O’Donovan said.
The increasing declared public precincts has raised concerns from the Law Society of South Australia, with one of its criminal law committee members Dr James Marcus, saying the society was concerned about the normalisation of “extraordinary powers” in the state.
Marcus argued that they disproportionately affected vulnerable groups in society.
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