City streets are safe, says Black Swan licensee

Black Swan licensee Andreas Bazzani has hit back at critics of Bendigo's late night venues, saying the clubs are doing everything they can to keep CBD streets safe.The hotel came into the spotlight this week after a police officer was assaulted at the front of the venue.

But Mr Bazzani said Black Swan staff were working tirelessly to prevent those kind of incidents.

He said security guards, at least eight per night, and bartenders were constantly looking for any signs of intoxication in patrons.

The hotel can be lumped with a $1300 fine for intoxication on premises and even more for serving an intoxicated person.

These charges also increase their licencing costs and make it harder to retain a licence.

"My whole night and my security's whole night is watching for intoxication and bad behaviour," Mr Bazzani said.

"The people who say things like 'the Black Swan should be shut down' never see the work we do, they never see the security we have.

"They never see we have a fantastic relationship with the coppers so we can work together.

"We are certainly all about police presence. In the high visibility vests they certainly reduce the incidents of troublemakers."

Mr Bazzani said the majority of problems came from patrons who were refused entry for being intoxicated.

"People need to know there are stiff penalties if they are asked to leave the area and refuse," he said.

"There are serious fines for refusing to leave a licensed premises and we would hope the police enforce this."

But overall Mr Bazzani said Bendigo was a very safe place to go out at night.

"It's actually really well policed and we work hard to ensure that people are safe," he said.

This is a sentiment echoed by Bendigo Inspector Mark Edwards.

Inspector Edwards, who oversees the licences, said police didn't have problems with any of the CBD's licensed premises.

"And I'm not just talking about in them, but around them too," he said.

"Bendigo is a safe place.

"When a licensed premises does give us grief it stands out like a sore thumb so it is easy to deal with."

Source: Bendigo Advertiser, 5 July 2012