New England police to hit the water at dams and local race days to police crowds

Officers are gearing up for locals to unwind over the holiday period, as holiday makers flock to the dams and camping hotspots, or the many race days planned across the region.

New England Detective Inspector Kingsley Chapman said drink driving, alcohol-fuelled violence and anti-social behaviour won't be tolerated.

"We have our police boat and that'll be deployed on the waterways, so we'll have a our police launches, and expect to be interacted with and spoken with," he said.

"Those officers will be focused on anyone on the waterways that are drinking to make sure they're under the limit, and have their safety vests on and to ensure that they're doing everything with water compliance regulations."

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Detective Chapman said New England police had the Moree picnic races last week which was another test for officers, "but overall it was pleasing to see the crowd behaviour".

"We had a drug dog in town, and that went through but generally most were well behaved," he said.

Race days in places like Inverell and Quirindi will have a heavy police presence, officers confirmed.

He said extra police will patrol in and outside the venues, as well as known holiday hotspots where crowds will frequent.

"We're deploying extra police around those events," Detective Chapman said.

"There are a few country race days, we've dedicated extra resources on and we'll have an extra presence on, and people can expect to see them there to ensure there are no problems or anti-social behaviour."

Double demerits are also in place on the roads until midnight on January 2.

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