Society & Culture Challenging a 'Drunk in a Public Place' fine.

Hard_to_Beat

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Aug 9, 2012
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In all my years drinking I've never been arrested. Until Saturday night. So now I've got a fine for nearly six hundred dollars. The desk sergeant said I could write a letter asking for the fine to be struck out due to my clean record. Has anyone else got any experience with this kind of thing?

How did the police manage to arrive at the conclusion that you were drunk?

Were you assessed by a qualified psychopharmacologist?
 

Hard_to_Beat

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I have 4, like I said.

On the three occasions where I was clearly not a harm to myself or anyone around me, I simply told them when they handed me the fine that I was not going to pay it. They told me they'd make me.

So I ripped the paper, threw it on the floor and walked out. It's probably tripled now but they have absolutely no chance of getting my money, court or no court.

Stupid laws are doomed to failure if everybody held their nerve and did this.
 

Poseidon

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WTF $560?? Aren't 99% of the people that go out on the town technically drunk in public? Jeez the coppers must make a killing on Friday and Saturday nights over there.

Only been picked up once ages ago, and they just dropped me back home.

Have you heard back from them yet?
 
Jun 11, 2007
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I'll write the letter and report back here - there's actually very little on the Net as to how to go about contesting a "drunk in a public place" fine, which seems to be a uniquely Victorian law.

STILL heard nothing back. Haven't paid the fine - I'm thinking if they wanted money off me I'd have gotten "Pay up NOW you common scoundrel!" missives from Civil Compliance Victoria (incidently CPV is a private company that has been 'subbied' by Victoria Police as a collection agency - much like any other private debt collector according to what I've learned. Do the police 'sell' the fine to CPV in the same way that debt collectors buy owed debt?) by now.

Not home at the minute but I'll post up a template of my Letter of Contest when I am. I think it all hinged on the fact that it was my first offence and that I admitted to it and the fact I did them hours of 'hard time' in the drunk tank.
 

dugrene

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Makes no sense.

Did you pay the fine ? If so then you have been conned. Police do not set penalties. They cannot make you pay. That is the job of the Courts.
Plead not guilty get a lawyer. You can say anything you want any time. Until you go to court. Then it matters.

Anybody else reading this and never been in a Police station remember sign nothing that's potentially incriminating plead not guilty until you have legal advice. Always !!!!!!!
 
Jun 11, 2007
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Nah. No fine was paid. I challenged it via a letter immediately. Over two months later no response. I'll wait to hear back but I'm assuming the matter is done and dusted as far as they are concerned.
 
Jun 11, 2007
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Not home at the minute but I'll post up a template of my Letter of Contest when I am. I think it all hinged on the fact that it was my first offence and that I admitted to it and the fact I did them hours of 'hard time' in the drunk tank.

Righto, here's the template as promised. Cut & paste it into Word or whatever else you use;

(your address)​



Name:

Infringement: Drunk in a Public Place

Cost of Infringement: $563

Enforcement Agency Reference Number:

Day of Infringement:


To whom it may concern,

I am writing to request that my recent fine for being 'drunk in a public place' be reduced to an official caution. I acknowledge that I'd had a few too many drinks. I co-operated fully with police instructions however, was not violent or abusive and spent some six hours in police custody before release. I believe that I have in effect paid for the offense, and I fully intend that this incident will be my last. Thank you for your time and consideration.


Yours sincerely

A wee bit kiss-arsey towards the end but hey, $563 dosen't grow on trees does it?. You might want to sex it up a bit, maybe add an explanation for your own circumstances but that's what I submitted some two months ago. Haven't heard back so I think it's been resolved.

I'll stress that it was MY FIRST 'drunk in a public place' arrest, so I think they went all lenient on me. Dunno if I'd get away with it again and again and again...
 
Think this version will work better in your favour mate ;)
(your address)



Name:

Infringement: Drunk in a Public Place

Cost of Infringement: $563

Enforcement Agency Reference Number:

Day of Infringement:


To whom it may concern,

I am writing to request that my recent fine for being 'drunk in a public place' be reduced to an official caution. I acknowledge that I'd had a few too many drinks. I had the unfortunate sexual experience with a woman that turned out to be a man, was not violent or abusive and spent some six hours washing my self in the shower in disgust of what just happened. I believe that I have in effect paid for the offense, and I fully intend that this incident will be my last. Thank you for your time and consideration.


Yours sincerely
 

cancat

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Righto, here's the template as promised. Cut & paste it into Word or whatever else you use;



A wee bit kiss-arsey towards the end but hey, $563 dosen't grow on trees does it?. You might want to sex it up a bit, maybe add an explanation for your own circumstances but that's what I submitted some two months ago. Haven't heard back so I think it's been resolved.

I'll stress that it was MY FIRST 'drunk in a public place' arrest, so I think they went all lenient on me. Dunno if I'd get away with it again and again and again...

If you haven't heard back then it's not resolved yet.

I don't think you should have taken the advice of the police. It sounds like they had no evidence that you were drunk - until you wrote a letter and admitted it.
 
Jun 11, 2007
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If you haven't heard back then it's not resolved yet.

I don't think you should have taken the advice of the police. It sounds like they had no evidence that you were drunk - until you wrote a letter and admitted it.

Good points and well within the realms of possibility/probability. A solicitor friend of my brother advised me on the letter as admission + time served will usually have the courts dismiss the case in a manner similar to what Caesar outlined earlier;

...What the desk sergeant is probably referring to is whatever Victoria's equivalent is to NSW's Section 10 dismissal. It's basically where the charge is accepted by the magistrate as proven, but no conviction is recorded. Generally it involves admitting the charge and asking for special dispensation...

As for not having heard back, yeah, I know it's not over with yet. I'm hopeful but maybe a visit to Civil Compliance Victoria (Ground Floor, 277 William St in the city) is in order later this week.
 

Caesar

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I wouldn't worry too much about having admitted fault. In practice, two experienced cops saying that they observed you displaying drunk behaviour is more than enough evidence for a magistrate. An admission in those circumstances just speeds up the process, and ensures maximum chance of clemency.
 

cancat

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Good points and well within the realms of possibility/probability. A solicitor friend of my brother advised me on the letter as admission + time served will usually have the courts dismiss the case in a manner similar to what Caesar outlined earlier;

As for not having heard back, yeah, I know it's not over with yet. I'm hopeful but maybe a visit to Civil Compliance Victoria (Ground Floor, 277 William St in the city) is in order later this week.

Good luck with it.

Used to work round the corner from there. It got a bit lively sometimes as people came out of court with the cameras following them down the road.
 
Nov 1, 2012
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Yeah. Taken into custody and fined just for being drunk. If I was drunk & disorderly then fair cop, but being drunk? It's a rubbish law that I think needs to be seriously looked at with a view to be taken off the books.

Lets face it, how backward & 3rd rate is any place that has "dry suburbs".

Even the Tea Party wonks don't support that kinda nonsense
 

blue_bear1

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blow goats.
Yeah. Taken into custody and fined just for being drunk. If I was drunk & disorderly then fair cop, but being drunk? It's a rubbish law that I think needs to be seriously looked at with a view to be taken off the books.
Wow. That is bizarre. Surely the cops have more important things to do.
 
Jul 17, 2012
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Victoria has recently increased the fine for 'public drunkeness' to $560 odd bucks. They fine everyone that same amount, well everyone who they catch and deem 'drunk in a public place' It doesn't mean you were doing anything else additional to that arrest, otherwise they would impose more charges - for example, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, etc.

It's a very harsh law and the police have their quota to fill each weekend. The hefty fine increase was due to the public outcry over Melbourne's drunken culture. You will find many people get arrested and fine for simply being drunk, even though they weren't bothering anyone else. It's very inconsistent this rule.
 

Ted38

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What about a $188 dollar fine for putting your feet on the chair of a train with only two other people in the carriage. One female giving me the fine, with three meatheads around her ready to smother me to death at the hint of movement. Cvnts.

Deserved you grub.
 
Jul 11, 2005
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My friend just got pinged for this, her friends got kicked out of a pub and when she left with them and the police started arresting her friends for being drunk in public, she asked what the issue was as they weren't doing anything wrong, and after being on the end of some choice curse words from the police (told her to f**k off and mind her own business) they arrested her for being drunk in public too. Went to the cop shop and had the choice of 4 hours in the cell or calling her parents to pick her up.

And they wonder why there is no respect in the community for police. She tries to look out for her friends and gets arrested. :thumbsdown:
 
Jan 26, 2006
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Victoria has recently increased the fine for 'public drunkeness' to $560 odd bucks. They fine everyone that same amount, well everyone who they catch and deem 'drunk in a public place' It doesn't mean you were doing anything else additional to that arrest, otherwise they would impose more charges - for example, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, etc.

It's a very harsh law and the police have their quota to fill each weekend. The hefty fine increase was due to the public outcry over Melbourne's drunken culture. You will find many people get arrested and fine for simply being drunk, even though they weren't bothering anyone else. It's very inconsistent this rule.

Does Melbourne actually have that big of a drinking culture?

I haven't spent much time in Melbourne but it seemed if anything that people were more sober than in Perth
 
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