Police Report No Major Incidents At Future Music Festival Despite Arrests

March 10, 2014

A high-visibility police operation at this weekend’s Future Music Festival in Sydney and Melbourne has resulted in a number of arrests for drug possession and alcohol-related incidents. Police have praised the majority of the crowd for their good behaviour.

The festival, headlined by French indie royalty Phoenix and featuring a half-hour set Mr Pharrell Williams, visited Sydney on Saturday where 163 people were given notices to appear in court for possession of drugs, four charged with drug supply. Another 82 people were refused entry or ejected from the event, mostly due to intoxication.

The numbers were more favourable for the Melbourne leg of the event. Police reported just 48 arrests on Sunday, 45 people for drug diversions with three receiving cannabis cautions. Senior Sergeant Mark Pilkington said the police’s dog operation detected 44 of the 48 arrests and enabled them to seize drugs before they made it into the event. “These drugs are manufactured by criminals and people have no idea what they are taking or the real risks involved,” he said.

NSW Police reported that the number of people attended to by paramedics was less than previous years. With an attendance figure of 47,000 people in Sydney, Detective Superintendent Gavin Dengate said, “Overall, the behaviour of the large crowd inside the venue was very good with no major incidents or disturbances.

“While most of the crowd were well behaved, there were still a few who were caught in possession of illicit drugs, although revellers are warned about the dangers of recreational drugs – especially when mixed with alcohol.”

Future Music Festival finishes up in Adelaide today. Check out our photos from the Melbourne event below.

Gallery: Future Music Festival 2014 – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne 09/03/14

Photos by Samantha Thomson