Operation Unite - Bashing victim joins commissioner in plea to end alcohol - Related crime

Starting this weekend, Friday, instead of Saturday and Sunday nights, scores of people actually start to get ready for the Christmas period and start having their end of year celebrations, hundreds of extra police are going to be on patrol across the state to prevent and respond to troubles The message that I've got for everyone in this is that, the police aren't here to be the fun police and we've certainly got a wake-up though to the fact that we've got a problem with grog Operation Unite 2011 will see some extra two thousand police shifts deployed across the entire New South Wales this Friday and Saturday night Police from general duties right through to specialist areas like public order riot squad and specialist license police will be out in force and focusing specifically on intoxicated and illegal behavior around intoxication Mark was the victim of a drunken unprovoked attack in October of last year in the Wollongong Mall He and a friend were set up on without warning by three strangers, he was bashed unconscious whilst his friend Jared, who he'll tell you about, was punched to the ground and repeatedly beaten and then stomped on His story is going to be important in conveying just how concerned we are about the misuse of alcohol, the things that people do when they drunk and the damage that they cause We were walking down the mall in Wollongong and were approached by three males, they didn't look very nice or anything like so, we had little sort of discussion with them, then they just attacked us, knocked me to the ground, dragged my mate Jared around, threw him to the ground, kicked him in the head, stole all of our phones and wallet, everything like that, Jackie was in the corner, hiding in a doorway, frightened, scared for her life and I woke up soon after, by Jared, slapping me on the face, thinking I was dead -Like every mother, we tell our children to be safe when they go out at night to make sure that they stay with their friends, make sure that they have enough money on them to get home and you think you've done your job in keeping them safe, but as a mother, every night my son went out, I was always terrified about what he would walk into, particular in the CBD of Wollongong, receiving that phone call, that evening was the most horrific night that I can recall, not knowing exactly what was wrong with him, I just knew he was in hospital and I knew I had to get there urgently Like I'm out with, lacerations to my head, bruises and cuts to my body and things like that and Jared came out with a broken nose, bruised body and it's kind of traumatised us a little bit -I'm lucky, I have my son today, many mothers are burying their children, due to alcohol-related offences, so I just plea to any mother out there, make sure that you listen to the message of Operation Unite, ensure that your children are well equipped when they go out at night to get themselves home, or get themselves out of a vulnerable situation This is but a shingle example of what it is that we have to deal with in very large numbers each and every day of the week when it comes to this type of violence, particularly as we move into the summer months, this is the sort of violence that we must stop Their lives have been ruined clearly they will live with this for the rest of their lives