Absurd Charges Part 1 - the "moving on" order. (You don't have to go home but you can't stay here....)

In most states of Australia, police have the power to order punters to "move on". Just go somewhere else, please, fast. Anywhere will do, as long as it's not here. Failing to obey such a direction is a criminal offence.

THIS WEEK'S ACTUAL EXAMPLE:  You come out of the pub at Northbridge, WA.  It's early in the morning, there are no cabs. You're drunk, and so is your girlfriend. There's dangerous dudes walking around, but the police are present, so you feel reasonably safe. You wait for a taxi. There are no taxis. You and your girl are standing at the cab rank, minding your own business. The police approach and order you to "move on". Hang on a minute! Isn't it the dangerous dudes cruising the street, clearly looking for trouble, who should be getting this order? You don't want to walk off into the darkness with these guys around. There are no trains, no busses, no cabs. The cops leave. Now there is no security at all. You continue to wait for a cab. What else can you do? The cops come back. Both you and your girlfriend are arrested and charged with "failing to obey a police direction". What the *^%%$?

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS SCENARIO?

1     The charge is not a deterrent

If you are intent on assaulting some random person, or so drunk and violent you don't care if you do, it is unlikely the threat of being charged with "failing to obey a police direction" is going to stop you!


2    The charge presumes police will always make intelligent directions.

To "direct" a drunk young couple to walk from the relative safety of a taxi rank in a lit-up street into the dark surrounds of a suburb, totally lost and a long way from home, early in the morning with no other transport, with dangerous people around and, apparently, no police protection, is unecessary, dangerous in itself  and plain stupid. Why would anyone obey a police officer telling you to do that?

3    It doesn't help anyone. At all.

Who benefits from this scenario?  The resources of the police are used, lawyers are engaged, the resources of the police are used again, as well as the courts, the charges are dismissed as ridiculous. What a waste of everyone's time! And for those who can't afford a lawyer and simply plead guilty to get it over with - lasting criminal convictions that hamper job and travel prospects, at the least.

4    The thing we tried to fix remains broken

Why did these powers come in? Because there were too many drunk, dangerous dudes outside pubs late at night.  Now, they just lurk in the shadows around the corner and wait for people who the police ask to "move on" to come their way!

COURT DUDE'S SOLUTION

Scrap this power. The police can't use it properly. It doesn't work. We already have similar offences such as loitering. Provide more cabs, more busses, more trains. If police are present, kindly brief them that their role is not to simply send all the drunk people out into the darkness away from the pub to fend for themselves, but to help to provide a secure environment in which people can actually get home safely (ie., to actually deter dangerous dudes from being dangerous dudes).