Blood spat in face among 24 assaults over 7 days in region
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A security guard who had blood spat in their face and another person threatened with a knife are among a concerning spike in violent instances worrying police.
A total of 24 assaults were reported across the Mackay district, stretching from the city north to Bowen and west through the Central Highlands, in the past week.
The spike in cases leading up to the Christmas period has triggered a warning from police that violence would not be tolerated, and offenders would be charged and put before the courts.
"I think as a community it is not acceptable, and certainly from our perspective we will be trying very hard to solve all of those and bring any assailants before the courts," Acting Inspector Mick Searle said.
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"We're not going to wear this; people being hurt because people can't sort their dramas or issues because they're full of grog or because they've got poor social skills - that's not the victims' fault.
"Don't take your actions out on them; try and deal with things in an adult way."
The 24 instances included 14 assault occasioning bodily harm, four common assault, one minor assault police, and three instances of grievous bodily harm.
The security guard who had blood spat in their face and a person threatened with a knife were two matters deemed serious assault.
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"We did have a domestic incident that resulted in a bodily harm during the course of last week but these others are just people who may know each other, may have been at the same place or may have just crossed paths and it's ended up in a violent encounter - we want those to stop," Acting Inspector Searle said.
"If you are going to have the privilege of going out to socialise, go out in public, drink liquor freely and enjoy life in the Mackay area, you've got to do it responsibly."
The majority of violent incidents occurred at private gatherings, shopping centres and in suburban streets.
He said anyone acting violently within the Safe Night Precinct could expect to be banned for 30 days, and police would apply to expand that to three months.
