ACT Policing has set its sights on hooning this November as it recommences its monthly focus on traffic issues.
Officer in Charge of ACT Road Policing, Detective Acting Inspector Paul Hutcheson said the focus on hooning activities had been added to the annual ACT Policing and ACT Government Road Safety Calendar in response to community concerns.
Detective Acting Inspector Hutcheson said a month-long campaign in May, which ran under the wider banner of dangerous driver behaviour, saw 151 hooning offences detected across the Territory.
“Hooning is not confined to one, or even a handful of suburbs,” he said.
“We know only a small number of drivers choose to indulge in this type of behaviour, but it is too many.
“In the past five years in the ACT, police have issued more than 4,000 cautions, infringements, and charges in more serious cases, and we know there have been more.”
Detective Acting Inspector Hutcheson said hooning required a whole-of-community solution.
“Importantly, for an infringement to be issued, the activity must be sighted by police or witnesses who are willing to come forward, and evidence must be collected, and this is where the community can help,” he said.
“Anyone who sees this behaviour, or who gets video of it on their phone, dash-cam, or CCTV system or sees it online, report it.”
The Officer in Charge said it was important to recognise that police did not address hooning without the help of Government.
Detective Acting Inspector Hutcheson said several intersections across Canberra had been identified as ‘burnout locations’ and were resurfaced by Government with a special mix.
“Anyone who tries to do a burnout here will very quickly shred their tyres.”
He said the best option for anyone wanting to supply video to police was to take it to a police station on a memory card or USB stick.
