Public intoxication reforms slash deaths in custody

Key points

• An evaluation of Victoria's 2023 decriminalisation of public intoxication has found no related deaths in custody and no people held solely for being drunk in public. The Monash University report, released on Friday, praised police for maintaining a health-led approach.
• Arrests for secondary offences during intoxication-related events occurred in five per cent of matters, but Aboriginal people remained twice as likely to be arrested as the general population.
• Report lead author Kyllie Cripps said First Nations people, young people, migrants and people with disabilities have historically been hardest hit by such laws.