Police from Tweed/Byron Local Area Command have spent another weekend dealing with the fallout from alcohol-related crime in Byron Bay.

Police detected 16 drink-driving offences between Thursday to Sunday with four charges laid for low-range drink driving, nine charges for mid-range, and one charge for high-range.

A 46-year-old Byron Bay woman was charged twice within a few hours after allegedly returning to her vehicle and continuing to drive.

A 29-year-old Queensland man was charged with high-range drink driving returning a reading of 0.168.

Tweed/Byron Crime Manager, Detective Acting Inspector Saul Wiseman, said that people who choose to drink and drive, placed themselves and the public in considerable danger.

“Drinkers need to plan their transport options prior to going out,” Detective Acting Inspector Saul Wiseman said.

In further alcohol-related incidents, an 18-year-old Lismore man and 21-year-old Goonellabah man were charged with affray and offensive conduct after police broke up a street fight in Jonson Street.

Police will allege the two men left a nightclub and allegedly started fighting just after 1am (21 July). They were released on conditional bail to appear at Byron Bay Local Court on 9 August 2012.

In another incident, a 29-year-old woman from Landsborough in Queensland was allegedly assaulted inside a nightclub at Byron Bay in the early hours of Saturday (21 July) morning. She was allegedly punched in the face by another female inside the venue resulting in minor injuries. Police are continuing to investigate this incident.

A 23-year-old man was taken to the Byron Bay Police Station in the early hours of Monday morning after being found drunk in the front yard of a house in Suffolk Park.

Police will allege the man was so intoxicated was unable to provide his address so police transported him to the local station to wait for the effects of the alcohol to wear off.

In the early hours of Sunday morning (22 July), a 21-year-old Ballina man was detected allegedly urinating into a garbage bin in Apex Park.  He was issued an infringement notice for offensive behaviour.

Also on Saturday (21 July) morning at 1am, police allegedly detected an 18-year-old Rileys Hill man driving erratically in Jonson Street, Byron Bay.

Police followed the vehicle to a vacant lot where the suspended learner-driver was observed to be allegedly intoxicated; a subsequent search of the vehicle located cannabis. The accused man had earlier been drinking at a nightclub in the Byron Bay CBD. He was charged with numerous driving offences and drug offences. He was bailed to appear at Byron Bay Local Court on the 8 August 2012.

A 19-year-old Currumbin Waters man was detained as an intoxicated person on Saturday morning after being ejected from a Byron Bay night club. He was also issued a number of infringement notices for failing to leave licensed premises.

Tweed Byron Police are preparing for a busy weekend this weekend with the Splendour in the Grass event expected to bring in thousands of extra people into the town. More than 100 extra police have been bought in to deal with alcohol-related crime and public order issues.

Det A/Insp Wiseman endorsed comments by then-Acting Commissioner Catherine Burn who last week said that people needed to take responsibility for their drinking.

“Firstly, people should plan ahead how they will get to and from licensed venues,” he said.

“Police do their bit every weekend but the reality is that there are too many people drinking too much. They are not taking responsibility for their actions and they are getting blind drunk.

“People should be able to go out and have a good time and not be accosted by drunks.

“It’s sad, but it’s simple: as long as people continue to drink to excess, emergency services and medical professionals will be left to clean up the mess,” Det A/Insp Wiseman said.