Several charges have been laid during a high-visibility, coordinated police operation at this year's Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Operation Tamworth Country Music Festival 2025 ran for the duration of the iconic event, which started on Friday 17 January 2025 and ended Sunday 26 January 2025.
General duties officers from Oxley Police District and across Western Region were assisted by specialist police from the Operations Support Group (OSG), Dog Unit, Licensing Police, Bicycle Unit, and Traffic and Highway Patrol Command throughout the operation.
Tamworth Country Music Festival is Australia's largest music festival, with a program featuring 700 artists and more than 1800 events, across 10 days.
Police worked closely with event organisers to ensure safety for all performers, spectators, event-staff and the wider community, with both uniformed and plain clothes police out in full force patrolling the local CBD and festival areas.
Highway Patrol Staff from the Peel Cluster were assisted by Traffic North, Traffic North West, Traffic South, Traffic South West and the Traffic Operations Group, with additional officers deployed travelling in excess of 36,500 kms to support the operation.
During Operation Tamworth Country Music Festival 2025:
- 8444 breath tests were conducted;
- 13 PCA offences were detected;
- 716 roadside drug tests were conducted with 103 positive results awaiting further analysis; and
- 793 traffic infringement notices issued, including over 300 for speeding offences, 21 restraint offences, and two mobile phone offences.
Additionally, 12 drivers were suspended, six disqualified, and two cancelled, with seven other traffic-related charges also being laid. Three arrest warrants were executed.
Incidents of note include:
- About 12.30am on Saturday 25 January 2025, two men – one aged 24 and one aged 21 – were travelling past a hotel on Kent Street, South Tamworth, in a Holden sedan when the 24-year-old allegedly pointed a pistol at a person. Following investigations, police arrested the two men inside a hotel on Peel Street, Tamworth, before taking them to Tamworth Police Station. A replica pistol gel blaster was also seized from the vehicle. The 24-year-old man was charged with armed with intent to commit indictable offence and possess unregistered unauthorised pistol in public place. He was refused bail and will appear in Tamworth Local Court on Friday 28 February 2025.
- About 9.20pm on Tuesday 21 January 2025, police were called to the Tamworth Regional playground regarding an assault near the public toilets. A 23-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted by a 17-year-old girl. The 17-year-old girl was arrested and conveyed to Tamworth Police Station where she was dealt with under the Young Offenders Act. The woman was not injured during the incident.
- A man was arrested by police following a pursuit around West Tamworth about 11.45pm on Monday 20 January 2025. Police attempted to stop the driver of a gold Ford Falcon sedan and when they failed to stop, a pursuit was initiated. The pursuit was terminated due to safety concerns. Following inquiries, police located the vehicle in Sussex Street, West Tamworth. Police arrested a 22-year-old man who was taken to Tamworth Police Station where he was charged with police pursuit – not stop drive recklessly and unlicensed driver. He was refused bail to appear at Tamworth Local Court on 21 January 2025, where bail was formally refused, to appear before the same Court on Tuesday 18 February 2025.
Planning for next year's operation has commenced.
