Police to keep toolies away from teens
Police trying to find an effective way to keep so-called toolies away from leavers will come down hard on them at this year's celebrations.
They will build up intelligence and profile details, and order patrolling police to stop and question all older people partying with students.
WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan confirmed toolies would be his target when leavers was launched on November 24 and said he had instructed his officers to keep a close eye on them.
If they were clearly mixing with younger people, he said, police would find out who they were and what they were doing.
He was disappointed there had been no significant reduction in their numbers last year despite moving leavers' celebrations to midweek.
Efforts would also be stepped up to put toolies under the microscope.
Mr O'Callaghan said he would consider asking the Office of Crime Prevention to conduct research on toolies, analysing already-collected charge details such as age, physical characteristics and demographic data.
And more effort might be made to share known information about the common traits of toolies with Eastern States leavers hosts such as the Gold Coast at meetings focusing on improved safety.
"We probably need to do some commissioning of research into the profile of these people as we build up a better amount of information or intelligence," Mr O'Callaghan said. What was already known was that toolies did not fit the stereotype of dirty old men and often turned up at leavers' locations for just a day or two.
"They are actually not that old," he said. "They are usually late teens or early 20s. They are post-leavers a lot of them.
"A little bit more experienced, they prey on vulnerable young girls.
Particularly, they are interested in young girls who have drunk too much or who are unable to make decisions." Last year at Rottnest, where Mr O'Callaghan said there had been "quite a problem" with toolies, he had resorted to personally approaching a few of them and ended up issuing them with infringements for carrying open alcohol.
"I was on Rottnest last year and we ran into quite a few and they were clearly older than schoolies," he said.
"The other thing is they behave quite differently, though schoolies might not necessarily see that.
"They are not there to have a good time with their mates. So they are not in groups, they are not hanging around with all the kids."
Instead, they were walking around on their own or with one other person.
"We will be targeting those very heavily this time around," Mr O'Callaghan said.
"We will have police out and about walking through and we will be watching very closely, getting intelligence on people moving in and out, both in Busselton and Rottnest.
"If they are clearly mixing with the younger people, we will be targeting them. We will certainly be talking to them, finding out what they are doing and who they are.
"If they are going about their business, of course, and not interfering with young people at all, then we will leave them alone."
Mr O'Callaghan confirmed his rock band, The Filth, had again been invited to play at leavers.
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