The police gave me a fine for Public Drunkeness when I was a few minutes away from home

Loneland on 10/12/2016 - 06:57

So basically on Wednesday, I was walking home from the pub which I live 5 minutes away from.
I was about 2 minutes away from home when the cops pulled me over and issued me with a fine for Public Drunkenness.

In my defense, I was quite drunk, but was perfectly capable of walking home. I was kind of really tired, so I was walking pretty slowly.
I wasn't cheeky to the cops nor loud or anything, since I'm a pretty quiet drunk. When they pulled me over, my speech was slightly slurred, but I told them that I was only a few minutes away from home and they still booked me.

I was neither being rowdy or a nuisance and the bartender can vouch for me, since I was having a pretty terrible day in my personal life.
I ended up getting an infringement notice to pay 6 penalty units, so a fine for $870

What are the chances of taking this to court and getting the fine revoked? I've heard of cases being thrown out of court.

I find it frankly ridiculous, since I'm not sure why I would have taken a cab home for a 5 minute walk.

Automotive

Comments

      • greatlamp on 12/12/2016 - 14:20
        +3

        Yep, treat them like fools, that always gets them to empathize with you

        • sator on 12/12/2016 - 15:24

          And mild profanity. I've found they always respond well to that

  • tonsta on 12/12/2016 - 01:17

    Doesn't sound like you have a case to answer, walking slow? Cops word against yours, they had a talk to you and let you go, didn't take you to the station to sleep it off. Coppers have a weak case.

  • syousef on 12/12/2016 - 06:35

    You were drunk enough that you don't remember what happened. What if you had stumbled out in front of a car? I don't think you have a leg to stand on.

    • sator on 12/12/2016 - 15:27

      RTFT mate. He perfectly remembers his innocence! =D

  • gcdollar on 12/12/2016 - 08:13

    A friend's friend was drunk one nights and was napping in his car in the driver's seat. Police saw and then asked him to step out. He got a fine for intended drunk driving. His defense was he did not intend to drive at all. But, who knows? Can't take the risk of his own or someone else's life. Police also watched him making a call to someone to come and pick him up.
    I actually thought the police did the right thing.

  • theone4u on 12/12/2016 - 08:41
    -1

    I believe what they could've done was take you home to make sure you get home safely as the protector of the public, by leaving you and giving you a fine shows they don't careless what happens to you.

    • sator on 12/12/2016 - 15:28

      They didn't leave him… RTFT

  • lyl-Lychee on 12/12/2016 - 09:12
    +1

    Op, out of curiosity, which suburb is this? CBD? CBD fringe?

    And do you remember how old /n00b these two cops were? It almost sounds like they're new to their job and power tripping.

    • oneland on 14/12/2016 - 17:40

      It was Northern Suburbs. I'm not sure if they were new, but one of them looked like Agent Sitwell from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

  • narcoleptic-haze on 12/12/2016 - 09:42
    +4

    Sometimes cops are bored, or need to fill fine quotas I guess.

    I was once driving home from a late band practice at around 1:30am. Stone cold sober, driving the speed limit. In the rear view mirror I saw lights of a car in the distance, then I stopped at a red light and the car flew down the road to catch up to me, there's not a chance in hell they didn't speed to catch up to me. Then they drove behind me for a little way and as I was pulling into my driveway, they chucked on their lights and pulled me over - in my driveway. Then proceeded to pepper me with questions for 15 minutes with their lights blaring into the houses around in the middle of night. They obviously couldn't find anything to fine me for so they eventually gave up and left, but they tried hard. They even started inspecting my car looking for anything they could get me for.

  • sator on 12/12/2016 - 09:49
    +2

    I feel for you mate, $800+ is a lot of cashrewards payments, AMEX deals, and 5.5% discounted Woolies eGift cards.

    Several arguments to date:

    1. You're a good upstanding person who has never had a criminal conviction or infringement notice, so they should have gone easy
    2. It's unfair because everyone does it, why did they pick on you?
    3. You've already vomited most of it up
    4. You were so close to home, taking a taxi was unreasonable
    5. The fine is too expensive
    6. The law is archaic and draconian… something you would expect of the Middle East
    7. It was a victim-less crime
    8. Cops didn't breath test you
    9. Cops should be out doing real police work, catching bad people
    10. Cops did it to meet their daily quota
    11. Cops are just revenue raising
    12. Cops are public servants, the public pay their wages, so we're their bosses, they should obey and do what we want!
    13. Cops should have driven you home

    Personally I think you should definitely contest it. With Magistrates being so soft (e.g. releasing APEX gang members who commit violent carjacking), I'm sure you'll get the fine overturned or reduced. Don't forget to pull out the sob story (sad family problem), they'll lap it up.

  • coolhead on 12/12/2016 - 09:57

    this is ridiculous and you were unlucky i would say… there are so many other ridiculous rules like fine for kite flying, getting punished for hurting a thief (breaking into your house) in self defense ..

  • phokati on 12/12/2016 - 10:53
    +1

    Damn coppers.. more serious crimes are being committed at night like recent burglaries and stuff.. should lookout for that rather than giving fines for people walking home from bar drunk. He is walking not Driving. Unless he has done vadalism.

  • Molebag on 12/12/2016 - 11:03
    +1

    People can take offence to seeing someone spewing up in a pub. Perhaps you were reported by the publican, or another person in the pub who witnessed that. In which case, not unreasonable to get that fine i think. I'd be interested to see what the report says. If you're really smashed, i doubt you'd remember all the details.

    • vicerum on 12/12/2016 - 11:36

      Throwing up in the pub toilet is not an offence and it doesn't break any laws.

      • Molebag on 12/12/2016 - 11:51

        He didn't say he threw up in the toilet, he said he threw up in the pub. Could have been over another patron, over the bar, over someone's drink. Who knows. I didn't say throwing up was an offence either, i said people can take offence to it. It seems that is what the law regarding public drunkeness addresses (amongst other things).

        • sator on 12/12/2016 - 15:33

          He's on OZB so obviously he's a gentleman of the 1st degree. I'm sure he spewed quietly and neatly into the toilet b4 cleaning up and flushing.

        • oneland on 13/12/2016 - 06:55

          I threw up in my cup actually.
          Bartender was pretty happy it wasnt him
          Then I proceeded to the toilet to clean myself up.

        • sator on 13/12/2016 - 21:53

          @oneland:
          Throwing up in a cup is still classy. Good work

  • MrGrinchy on 12/12/2016 - 11:37
    +2

    I would contest it on the grounds of ;

    A) its impossible to not break the law, because
    i) You cannot sleep at the pub until sober
    ii) the definition of drink is not concrete, ie like .10 over limit (limits are not the same per person)
    iii) You cannot avoid being in public , because walking from PUB to TAXI means walking on public land.
    iv) Waiting for taxi means waiting on public land
    v) bloody obvious - you were not doing the wrong thing by hurting any one
    vi) precedence, on TV, cops let drunk people walk home on RBT tv show.
    vii) foot path is technically council property, not public land.

    Delay paying fines until the last possible moment, then waste more of the govts money to piss em off, so in the end, that fine is a small loss to you, but a bigger loss, zero profit for them.

    • humdogg on 12/12/2016 - 14:20
      +2

      A)(vi):
      OP: Your Honour I'm not guilty because of a precedent?
      Magistrate: Which case?
      OP: RBT, when the cop let the drunk guy go home.
      Magistrate: very well, I find you not guilty.

      Is this the kind of scenario you really think would work?

    • sator on 12/12/2016 - 15:35

      Love the last sentence, you're such an anarchist!

  • Blottski on 12/12/2016 - 11:38

    hmmm…. seems a tad overkill this.

    would the cops prefer he drove home?

  • gannon on 12/12/2016 - 12:08
    +32

    Hi mate,

    Literally the same thing happened to me a few weeks ago.

    Here are the steps I'd recommend:

    a) Send a respectful, polite letter to the Area Commander at your local police station outlining your circumstances. Request that given your record, you are given an Official Warning in place of the fine. You might even like to pop in to the Police Station to hand deliver this.

    b) More importantly, you need to Apply for an Internal Review at Civil Compliance Victoria. You can read up and download the information here: http://online.fines.vic.gov.au/fines/content.aspx?page=37 The application form is here: http://online.fines.vic.gov.au/fines/forms/internal%20review… You want to tick "Victoria Police On-the-spot Fine" and apply for "Exceptional Circumstances" - which can literally be anything, at the Police's direction - and outline the reasons your formally stated in your letter to the Police.

    Doing these things got me my fine withdrawn and an Official Warning in place.

    Failing all this, go to court and the Magistrate is highly likely to do the same.

    Good luck!

    • CheapCoffee on 12/12/2016 - 16:08
      +5

      Some proper advice!

    • oneland on 14/12/2016 - 17:37

      Thanks so much for the advice
      I will indeed be doing this.
      As it is the Christmas Period, do you have any idea that I can delay the payment date?

      • gannon on 15/12/2016 - 21:29
        +1

        You should be given six weeks from the date of the charge being written up / processed to make payment. After six weeks, you'll be given a Reminder Notice. This should extend you for about another four weeks, and doesn't affect your ability to apply for Internal Review. Only after the Reminder Notice lapses will you be issued with an Enforcement Order, which then stops Internal Review being a valid option, and you'll have to choose between a) paying the fine, or b) going to court. Please let us know how you get on - good luck :)

  • Squidmcsproggen on 12/12/2016 - 12:58

    could you also be charged with being drunk in public even if you where in a taxi.
    i have been charged with drinking in public (having a beer in my car on the way home from work).
    so if you where drunk in a taxi wouldn't that be the same, drunk in public?

    • sator on 12/12/2016 - 15:40

      I'm pretty sure it's an offence to be drinking whilst driving. But I'm sure you weren't drinking it; you just had it open so the beer can breathe and taste better for once you get home ;D

    • Forskin on 12/12/2016 - 16:27

      You would have been charged with drink driving not drunk in public

      • Squidmcsproggen on 12/12/2016 - 18:49

        fined for drinking in a public place

        not drink driving as i wasn't over the limit.

        • sator on 12/12/2016 - 20:31

          There's apparently a new fine for people who drink whilst driving irrespective of their alcohol concentration… so you won't get the drinking in a public place anymore

  • Johhny 2 balls on 12/12/2016 - 15:44
    +2

    That's terrible, it happened to me when I was 19, almost same circumstances, however they locked me up and treated me like sh*t, needless to say have hated cops ever since and taken evey chance I can to discredit them, I even had a mate who became a cop and he hated cops so much he left the job after 3 years because of all the blatantly unfair and unjust things he saw happen.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2016 - 16:29

    Glad I only get drunk at home nowadays.

  • DanielR on 12/12/2016 - 17:20

    I would contest this - take it to court and represent yourself (you don't need a lawyer) most judges will let this slide - that's if your record is clean. Be civil calm and diplomatic, have written references from who you encountered and show visiually (google maps) print out where you live and distance from the pub. Explain that you were civil and diplomatic and all times, very calm and composed and you were minding your own business and not being a public nuisance, that this is far more effective then getting behind the wheel, and because of the time of night it was there was no public transport available, hence the reason you walked home.

    Good luck let me know how you go in court

  • immortalbjr on 12/12/2016 - 20:04

    I've heard of cases being thrown out of court.

    I've heard of people winning lotto too.

  • pointnlarf on 12/12/2016 - 20:39
    +1

    They could have done something useful and walked you home if it was only a couple of minutes away…. If it was a lady shouldn't they have done exactly that?

    • sator on 12/12/2016 - 20:43
      -1

      Walking every drunk home seems like a waste of time to me. Yes, they could have done more useful things instead of babysitting a bloody drunk.

      Lol, no one has mentioned donuts yet.

      • pointnlarf on 12/12/2016 - 20:48
        +1

        If they have a few minutes to write up a ticket they could have used that time to do something positive instead…If they are too busy …exactly….leave him the hell alone and do something useful…

        • sator on 12/12/2016 - 23:10
          -1

          They have a duty of care to ensure he is safe. The fine seems like a good deterrence to prevent people from repeating bad behaviour and wasting the police's time.

        • pointnlarf on 12/12/2016 - 23:28
          +2

          @sator: He wasnt robbing a bank …he was staggering up the road a bit…Let people own their own responsibility a little… Should we start fining every jay walker or every antiquated rule-breaker in the "law" due to "duty of care"? Does the world really need to be that anally retentive?

        • sator on 13/12/2016 - 21:58
          -1

          @pointnlarf:

          You're using the victimless crime argument. At what point does public nuisance become a crime?

          This is a nanny state -unfortunately. Duty of care means EVERYTHING. There are all sorts of idiots who will sue the government and police force for their stupid actions. They are just protecting themselves by strictly doing their job.

          Perhaps a better way to look at it is that these cops were doing their jobs properly, and all the other 'lenient' coppers weren't.

        • pointnlarf on 14/12/2016 - 09:55
          +1

          @sator: Obviously common sense needs to apply like in this case… There will never be enough police to police all laws…nor should there be. Do we want 1984? Good Police use their discretion….

  • ninetyNineCents on 12/12/2016 - 21:07
    -4

    Its good the police fined you, maybe next time they will also fine the pub for serving someone obviously intoxicated.

  • ribze1 on 12/12/2016 - 21:37

    Here in Casino Mike's NSW you would be 2 years in gaol for daring to be drunk on the streets of Sydney.

  • frostman on 12/12/2016 - 21:58
    -3

    You're a walking danger, you deserved it.

  • mskeggs on 12/12/2016 - 22:02
    +5

    Wow. Lot of moralising in this thread.
    If you want to restrict the OPs freedom to drink too much, consider there are plenty of people who would choose to restrict your freedom to worship so intensely.
    Communities tend to work best where personal freedoms are allowed, but actions that harm others are discouraged. Sometimes that means allowing others to make choices one would think ill thought out, like drinking too much or devoting their thought processes to an imaginary deity.

    • sator on 12/12/2016 - 23:14

      Pretty sure the police don't give two hoots about his drinking. Just do it at home, away from public places where they have a duty of care to him.

      Yes, freedom to marijuana, guns and other forms of expression…

  • Grish on 12/12/2016 - 22:20
    +4

    The interesting part to me in OPs story is that the cops sent the fine to his parents house in Thomastown..

    This indicates that when the cops read OPs licence/ID, they failed to notice the updated stuck on address, so the cop already had in his head that OP was miles and miles from his home.

    Even if OP attempted to explain to the cops that he literary lives just down the road and it would be impossible to get home any other way, they wouldn't have listened. Because in their head, there was a bloke off his fritters roaming the good streets of Melbourne, miles from his home… nicked.

    I would head to court and portray this angle, in a way that you believe there was a misunderstanding, a communications breakdown between an ever so slightly drunk OP, within mere metres of his own home, and a couple of trigger happy, junior (no doubt) coppers.

    • sator on 12/12/2016 - 23:16
      -2

      What happens if he was such a handful that they were distracted? Maybe the sticker wasn't there, and the OP has only attached it recently. Quibbling over little things is fun isn't it!

      Errr mate, this ain't America…

      • Ozbargainite on 15/12/2016 - 00:49
        +1

        Yes it isn't America so why is everyone saying ain't instead of isn't all of a sudden.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2016 - 22:37

    That's a heavy fine! They probably have mentioned which clause of law they are using to fine you or you should find it out yourself. This helps clarify your mind on whether or not go to court.

  • Starcraftmazter on 12/12/2016 - 22:53

    This is a thing? I'm guessing it's a state-specific law and not in NSW? Otherwise the police would be arresting thousands of people every weekend in Sydney CBD for this.

  • senz on 13/12/2016 - 01:21
    -4

    Don't challenge it, it's not worth the effort.Ask if you could pay in installments if you having financial difficulties. Just think about your actions and never do it again. You would of got yourself killed if you wondered off the path and on to an incoming vehicle or crossing the road.

    • Click_It on 13/12/2016 - 10:38
      +5

      Funny, that's exactly the advice a co-worker gave me over a $1,100 fine I recently received (completely different kind of infringement) - this particular guy had a rather colourful past though, but his solution every time he got a new fine was to request a payment plan. I asked why wouldn't he at least try to contest them by filling out "Option 1" on the paperwork.

      His response: "I can't be bothered, it's not worth the effort, I'm happy to just pay the fine"

      That works for him and seemingly you, I suppose if you believe you deserve the fine then fair enough case closed. But if in the case of the OP, believes he was hard done by then I would always recommend utilising your first (free) option and appealing to your states debt office (State Revenue Office in VIC). I mean, they can only say no.

      If you're stubborn like me, you'll prepare as if you're going to court. Submit the same evidence to them as you will be taking to court so if they say no you have done the hard yards already and are in a good state of mind.

      I'll share my recent experience (I got off a $1,100 fine last Friday).

      I wrote to the State Debt Recovery Office initially asking for more time to provide a reason (as you only have 14 days and I needed more time to collect evidence), they accepted.

      I then prepared everything that I would be taking to court (yes, I expected the NSW SDRO to reject it anyway), I enabled SMS notifications as my fine in the first place was related to miscommunication. To my absolute surprise, just 18 minutes later I get a reply stating they accept my reason, fine gone. (This was 4:47PM on Friday!)

      $1,100 extra leading into Christmas was much needed. I'm glad I felt it was worth the effort.

      • oneland on 14/12/2016 - 17:36

        Hey Click_it
        Thanks for the advice, as you are in NSW, in VIC we don't have an SDRO.
        Are you referring to the SRO? I can prepare what I'm taking to court and email it to them, but there isnt a state debt recovery office in Victoria, there is the SRO in Victoria as you mentioned?
        Are you referring to the Victoria State Fines department to contest it?

        • Click_It on 14/12/2016 - 20:31

          Oh yeah I stand corrected, sorry it's Victoria State Fines department as you said (my amateur googling skills failed me).

          Try to contest it there first, it's free and could keep you out of court.

          You mentioned it was a pretty terrible day, have you by chance spoken to any professionals recently about any events that is related to that terrible day? EG: If a doctor or someone is aware of a broader difficulty you are going through, a letter from them stating they've seen you regarding this issue will carry a lot of weight, particularly when you are saying this is out of character (as well as unjust). It sounds like it was simply just a sh*tty day but any type of evidence you might be able to connect to the event will carry weight.

  • Sowny on 13/12/2016 - 11:06

    Holy Shit! That's too much mate!

    • sator on 13/12/2016 - 21:59

      Brilliant comment…

  • Zarcady on 13/12/2016 - 14:33
    +5

    Some people are bloody idiots on this thread. Life throws OP a shit one and you guys are berating him for drinking and copping an $870 fine. No one gives a flying hoot whether you are a vegetarian, teetotaler or whatever life choices you make, and try to take the imaginary moral high ground based on YOUR values. Push your bias out the window because it's disgusting.

    • Janko on 13/12/2016 - 16:03
      +2

      I always find that weird how by the book many here are, and there's seems to be even more on Whirlpool.

      It's like, "Page 14 of the T&Cs for ordering a pizza online says xxxxx- you should have read them first."

      Amortize fines - they don't work out much when you take into account how many times you don't get fined for doing something fineable.

      I routinely overstay the 1 hour parking zones in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. It'd work out at about 20c/hour parking if I got fined tomorrow, and it's only getting cheaper the longer my luck holds out. When I do eventually get fined, I'll pay with a smile, thinking that was a bargain.

      Speeding - if I get caught doing 3 km/h over, I won't be mad because nearly 99.9% of the time when I do speed I don't have to pay anything.

      • Soluble on 13/12/2016 - 16:59

        Heh, my old work had a 3 hour parking limit, in 4 years I was fined $55 4 times. I figured it was easier than walking a km to work every day. I look at it very similarly to you.

      • Click_It on 13/12/2016 - 21:29

        I agree.

        I wouldn't recommend anybody share their "help me" stories on OzBargain nor Whirlpool. It's usually brutal, I've skipped most of the replies in this one out of laziness.

      • Zarcady on 13/12/2016 - 23:59
        +1

        Justice? Justice?!
        I may not have the complete story but if you are honestly suggesting $870 for walking home drunk is justice, I'm literally flabbergasted.

        The law isnt black and white and that is why there is a precedence for everything, and thats why old laws get superseded based on the current society. We are responsible for creating laws but at the end of the day, it is just that: created by humans to regulate the behaviour of other humans. The laws arent made to cover every single possibility that can occur during your life and I have no idea how someone can function in a society if they blindly adhere to the law and thinking they are an upright citizen for doing so.
        I highly doubt you are as upright as you claim, not by the way you parade around yourself on the net.

        Oh and by the way, I don't think he is the underdog here by any means, I mean, there seems to be an awful lot of negs on your statement and I have unfortunately ran out of my quota to give you 1 more ;)

      • Janko on 14/12/2016 - 00:01
        +1

        @Sator, no-one above mentioned bad luck.

        ?

  • Winston100s on 13/12/2016 - 14:40

    F**k the police coming straight from the underground
    A young wigga got it bad cause I'm drunk…
    I feel for you, good luck, that's all I can say

  • bargaino on 13/12/2016 - 15:43

    OP needs legal advice, but it may be hard to get free/cheap legal advice at this time of year.
    If so, ask for more time for that reason.

    A magistrate has discretion to issue a smaller or no fine, even if you plead guilty, right?

    This is one of those old laws that is very rarely prosecuted.

  • lunartemis on 13/12/2016 - 17:01

    I have heard of 'don't drink and drive' slogan but never 'don't drink and walk'

    • sator on 13/12/2016 - 22:06

      There's no TAC equivalent for pedestrians…

  • FatBlanket on 13/12/2016 - 17:56
    +3

    We can't know what happened that night so this is a pointless exercise. When all you have is the testimony of the guilty party you don't have much to go on. Especially when the guilty party was totally off his head and quite possibly doesn't remember correctly. So basically the OP got a fine. That's all we know.

  • protozeroxx on 13/12/2016 - 18:38

    That's stupid, if you could prove you lived down the road why didn't they just drive you there?

    • sator on 13/12/2016 - 22:08

      The police force is not a taxi service…

  • BH1 on 13/12/2016 - 21:49
    +1

    Grubs!
    Get a solicitor and take it to court.
    Do not pay that fine!
    Also i suggest going to that Cop shop and speaking to the sgt.
    Tell him this is going to court.
    (profanity) talk to the local journo get a story out on your local paper.

    Make sure you summons that grub on his RDO to face you in court. :)

    Not all cops are bad but the dirty ones who also go on power trips need to be taught a lesson.

    Wish you the best.

    https://youtu.be/9ZrAYxWPN6c

    • sator on 13/12/2016 - 22:10

      What sort of bogan are you? Do you even work? You clearly don't understand the concept of RDOs.
      Doing their job is power tripping?…

      • BH1 on 15/12/2016 - 06:22

        Just like you… only with intelligence and talking from EXPERIENCE!! :)

        Yes I am a rotational shift worker.

        Clearly you missed the smile at the end of the RDO comment. Meaning extremely unlikely for that to happen but would be great.
        Your eyes are painted on as well.

        The song is to hype him up.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/12/2016 - 07:12

    You indicated elsewhere you threw up while at the bar. You were drunk at some point, this is clear.

    Now, is this worthy of the maximum penalty for such a crime? (profanity) no. You were being a good citizen walking the short distance home rather than drink driving. You had a shit day, went to the pub and walk homed after - nothing wrong with that. Put on a nice suit (you'll need to look professional for this to work - if you look like someone who drinks every night it'll fail), take it to the magistrate and explain you had a bad few days from personal issues and were simply walking home after a few drinks at the pub. The magistrate has the power to sentence any level of penalty (even with a guilty verdict). More than likely the conviction will be completely dismissed.

  • tc4101 on 14/12/2016 - 10:02
    +1

    so after the fine, what was the outcome? did he instantly become un-intoxicated? did the police help him call a cab? take it to the courts, no magistrate will uphold this matter. unfortunatly it'll cost you a wasted day in court. don't bother with wasting money on a lawyer. just show up yourself and explain your case and your non existant criminal history. you'll be ok

  • [Deactivated] on 14/12/2016 - 11:44

    This is why the police are (profanity).

  • PeterC86 on 14/12/2016 - 12:20
    +1

    why is there police material such as:
    https://www.police.vic.gov.au/retrievemedia.asp?Media_ID=569…

    which says:
    If you think you might be over the
    limit consider getting a taxi or public transport, calling someone
    to pick you up or walking home – but never walk home alone.

    i.e., it is suggesting you walk home. a reasonable person should be able to trust brochures and the like from the police, right?

  • meister on 14/12/2016 - 16:57
    +1

    I concur. More serious crimes are being committed at night like recent burglaries and stuff.. should lookout for that rather than giving fines for people walking home from bar drunk. He is walking not Driving.

  • oneland on 14/12/2016 - 17:17
    +7

    Hey guys
    Sorry for replying so late. I've read through the hundreds of comments, and I the people providing useful advice. For those that are saying my side of the story is pretty shady, as I previously mentioned, I have no reason to lie. It would serve me no purpose when I actually go to court. If your actually on the thread to question my side of the story, just don't bother commenting, because I'm looking for help from ozbargain community.

    I finally got the infringement notice off my parents who were to say the very least not impressed. Copped a yelling from my father. The infringement notice revealed a fair few things
    - The police did note down my alternative address in Pres***, but posted it to my Parents in T****
    - They were from the N*** Police Station which may be why they did not know I lived down the block, its in a different suburb

    There have been a few more complications
    - I called the Pres*** Police Station who I thought initially provided the infringement notice, and they told me to come in the next week. Clearly it is not them
    - I then proceeded to call the N*** Police Station, who will allow me to meet the informant, but speaking on the phone, even if I come in, they will not allow me to see the incident report. They said a subpoena had to be provided to see it, which is frankly ridiculous, because I would certainly like to know I was a danger to anyone, because clearly i was not.

    Speaking to the Senior Constable, they stated that the offence had been committed regardless of the location. I stated back, how else would I have gotten home, which left him speechless, and then he resumed his argument that the offence had been committed. I provided him with the details that as I was 2 minutes away from home as google maps suggests, no taxi service would have taken me and I was quite capable of walking as I was on the footpath and I had crossed the road whilst the lights were still green.

    It seems like I have to take this to court. Can someone confirm that the conviction will not appear on my criminal record?

    • Click_It on 14/12/2016 - 20:46
      +1

      Regarding the subpoena, I could be wrong here but I had an incident involving a council fine 10 years ago, I requested all the evidence they had on me because it was to be part of my defence in court. I did this under the "Freedom of Information Act 1982" which requires they disclose it to me. It was promptly provided.

      The difference being mine was held by a local council and not the police but I wouldn't have thought this makes any difference.

      I wouldn't treat the Senior Constable's comments as gospel that's for sure. Google and make some calls.

      As for convictions, that's for the court to decide but in my opinion you are more likely to be given a good behaviour bond without conviction – which is called a 'Section 10(1)(b) bond', the prosecution will likely try pushing to keep the penalty in place but it is the magistrate who will decide based on the evidence at hand.

      My comments should not be considered legal advice.

    • rambao9 on 15/12/2016 - 10:40
      +3

      Great update!

      We really haven't been getting much updates in interesting threads recently. Most of the OPs just disappear into thin air.

      Thanks OP.

  • nautic on 15/12/2016 - 13:27

    They also got Luke Dunstan a couple of days ago

    • nautic on 16/12/2016 - 02:02

      I'm guessing they took a page out from here, unique to Victoria…

      a person under s 13 who is found drunk in a public place shall be guilty of an offence.

      The Summary Offences Act 1966 (VIC) considers some of the following areas as a “public place”:

      public highway, road, street, bridge, footpath, court, alley, passage or thoroughfare, notwithstanding that it may be formed on private property;
park, garden, reserve, or other place of public recreation or resort;
railway station, platform or carriage;
Government school, or connecting lands;
markets;
racecourse, cricket and football grounds or any other place where members of the public are present.
  • velcrochicken on 15/12/2016 - 16:54
    +1

    Same deal happened to me when I was younger, walking home, was drunk but causing no issues just a bit wobbly, didn't have the money for a taxi. Was thrown in a cell and hit with a huge fine, took it to court and was totally cleared no fine, no record no nothing, the judges own words " I have no idea why they are wasting my or your time"

    Funny thing is, I threw up in there van so they had to clean that all up(i'm assuming), so sucks to be them I guess haha.

    • Grish on 15/12/2016 - 20:32

      Hehe, well played.. I agree with the judge, it's a gross waste of tax payers money, including the time spent cleaning up your vomit from the van.

  • Peck on 18/12/2016 - 21:12

    Celebrating OzBargain wins will do that to you. Hehe!!

  • bizarredeal on 27/01/2017 - 09:16

    Just reminded of this post based on the recent events at Bourke street.
    Funny how cops are on to a lonely harmless guy and showing their authority and power by imposing a massive fine for which a compassionate and sensible cop would've/could've taking a different action by getting a cab for the guy or make sure he gets help to get home safely and prevented from wasting a number of people's time (court etc).

    When it comes to a threat like someone driving rampage around and putting 100's of passengers under immense pressure, agony, pain and suffering these p**** are watching.. even a bunch of teenagers tried something.
    What are these cops actually useful for? They had a moment to be a hero by taking down this guy who is a murderer, instead they do nothing and now defend themselves by saying they couldn't do anything. Instead they opted for the guy to drive over some people and then deal with it later. Nothing heroic about this stupid cops.
    They are only useful to hit their monthly targets of issuing fines to things that could be let off with a warning. Just a commercial business and not really doing what they really should be.
    This murderer has the audacity to do what he did and not even show up on the court? because he is physically unfit?? what a load of bullshit.. and here there is a not-so harmful civilian who walked the street few mins away from home being "drunk" who is wondering if its the end of the world if he will get a criminal record..

    Anyways, may be off topic.. just my little rant..
    Stand your ground man, hope it goes well. All the best.

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