Police to crack down on antisocial behaviour

Duty Officer with Chifley Police District, David Abercrombie, said police were disappointed to see examples of poor crowd behaviour during Monday's Anzac Day races, and warned the community it will not be tolerated.

"The Bathurst Show is a family, community event, and people can expect to see a heavy police presence there," he said.

"We've got extra police rostered on specifically to work at the show, and any form of antisocial behaviour, anything like that, will not be tolerated at all.

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"The event is very much a family focused weekend. That is the way we want it to stay.

"Obviously we were a little bit disappointed with the behaviour of some individuals on Monday [during Anzac Day events].

"Unfortunately, police experienced poor behaviour from several people.

"There was a serious assault at the Soldier's Saddle, which resulted in a couple of police officers being assaulted as well.

"There were also several assaults later on that night at licensed premises."

He said one man was charged with six offences, including two counts of assaulting a police officer, after failing to leave the races.

Inspector Abercrombie said there will be an extra focus by police officers on any form of antisocial behaviour this weekend.

"We don't want anything escalating to the point that it did on Monday," he said.

"We always supply extra resources when the show is on just to ensure it is a family friendly event."

He said incidents of violence at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, which included the stabbing death of a teenager, had no bearing on any planned police operations at Bathurst.

"No, what happened down there [at the Sydney Royal Easter Show] hasn't changed our risk assessment.

"This [additional policing] is what we do at the show every year."

He said it was all about ensuring everyone has a safe, fun show.

"As I said, this is a family friendly event. We will have officers patrolling [the grounds] plus officers based in the show office every day."

Royal Bathurst Show secretary Brett Kenworthy agreed, saying people's safety is of the utmost importance ahead of this year's event.

"We're also concerned about duty of care," he said.

"For our size, we have an appropriate security presence with Bathurst Regional Security, as well as a police presence."

He said security and police typically deal with "lost kids and stuff like that".

While Mr Kenworthy said a repeat of what happened at the Sydney Royal Easter Show is extremely unlikely, he said volunteers and staff are alert to any possible worries.

"We're also concerned and I think we're already alert to potential issues," he said.

"We're not overly concerned that [what happened at the Sydney Royal Easter Show] will happen out here.

"It's always a risk and you've always got to weigh up the likelihood of it and I'd like to think something like that will not happen here."

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