Lockout laws have cut violence by a quarter, claims SA Government

The South Australian Government says its new lockout laws are already working to curb alcohol-fuelled violence.

The state's Attorney General John Rau says that since the laws were introduced last month, there has been a 25 per cent reduction in alcohol-related crime.

The measures include a lockout that stops people from entering venues after 3:00am, as well as a restriction on the sale of some drinks and a ban on glassware after 4:00am.

A similar lockout introduced in Newcastle in 2008, combined with a curfew, resulted in a 36 per cent drop in assaults.

But leading drug and alcohol researcher Professor Steve Allsop has told the ABC there is no evidence that a lockout will work to curb alcohol-related violence.

"I don't think you can simply translate one part of what happened in Newcastle into another location," he said.

"Newcastle was a combination of lockouts and reduced hours of sale ... you can't simply say, therefore, one bit of that we'll have the lockouts, but not the reduced hours of sale and that will have the same effect as a lockout."

He says while the South Australian government is right to feel buoyed by the early results, there is still work to be done.

"There's still far too much violence ... and we need to continually monitor the effectiveness of those strategies."

New laws counterproductive, claims guard

Tony Tropeano is a lawyer for one of Hindley Street’s most notorious venues, The Palace Nightclub.

Mr Tropeano says the street poses many challenges for police and venue owners alike.

"Disorderly behaviour, mainly fights ... people already come pre-loaded in the area ... people think that it's OK to act the idiots," he said.

Security guard Richard Barrett has been working on Hindley Street for more than 15 years, and said the new laws are a waste of time.

"The violence starts anywhere from eight, nine in the evening," he said.

"It's young drunk people. What can you do?"

Mr Barrett says with the new laws, the danger is what happens after 3:00am.

"It's just putting a lot more people out on the streets in the early hours of the morning ... and they're frustrated and annoyed because they can't go anywhere," he said.

Mr Rau says it will take time for people to learn how the new laws work.

"Sooner or later all of those people are going to work out that if you're not in the place by 3:00am you're not getting in," he said.

"Maybe, just maybe, they'll go home and have a sleep, which mightn't be a bad idea."

Some nightclubs are fighting to overturn the lockout, saying all that is needed is more policing.

The Palace nightclub has launched a Supreme Court challenge against the laws.

"I mean if it was police resources ... if they were allocated prior to the lockout, you wouldn't have need of the lockout," the club's lawyer Tony Tropeano said.

"There has been a reduction in disorderly behaviour, and that's great, we welcome that."

The case is due to be heard in the South Australian Supreme Court this week.

Source: ABC News, 26 November 2013