Police are preparing for a spike in family violence associated with the AFL Grand Final this weekend.
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While the weekend doesn't bring as big a spike as other major events on the calendar, Family Violence Unit Senior Sergeant Tony Coxall said a dedicated team will be ready for any incidents across Saturday and Sunday.
"We have got a dedicated unit working this weekend, however it's business as usual for us," he said.
"Historically, we've only ever seen a very slight increase in family violence incidents regionally on Grand Final day."
Senior Sergeant Coxall added the majority of family violence issues stemming from the Grand Final are alcohol related and hopes that COVID-19 restrictions along with a later start time for the game could help lower the amount of incidents.
"The main issue with Grand Final day is people coming together and consuming alcohol excessively," he continued.
"Quite often that's a family tradition around this weekend, so I'm hoping this year we won't see that increase because of COVID-19 restrictions.
"While we're expecting a slight increase, it's for the most part avoidable as long as people are responsible with their alcohol consumption. The fact that the game is later in the day may also help as we'd like to think that people aren't drinking for a prolonged period, and they won't have anywhere to go after the game.
"Predominantly in the past what we've seen is incidents occurring when parties have come back together after long days apart consuming excess alcohol at a licenced premises."
This comes after Superintendent Jenny Wilson encouraged the community to enjoy the game, but while adhering to the directions of the Chief Health Officer.
She said while people might be tempted to host a big grand final celebration at their homes as they normally would, doing so was against the current health advice.
"We ask people to adhere to the health directions because they are there for a reason," she said.
Superintendent Wilson encouraged responsible alcohol consumption and for people to be mindful of the impact of intoxication.
As well as increased foot patrols, police will also be running a road policing operation throughout the weekend.
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