WA’s top cop jumps onto Flagmantle bandwagon after issuing stark warning to drunk and dangerous drivers

WA’s top cop says all West Australians should be barracking for Fremantle and certainly not acting irresponsibly behind the wheel this long weekend.

Police Commissioner Col Blanch made the two unrelated points in front of a display of police motorbikes, cars, booze buses and air wing on Thursday morning as he cautioned drivers caught doing the wrong thing would be stung with double demerits.

Double demerits will be in place from midnight on Friday until the end of Monday.

Mr Blanch said he expected hundreds of thousands of West Australians to be on the road this long weekend with the AFL grand final, Perth Royal Show and school holidays kicking off on Saturday.

“Whilst (the grand final) is being played in Melbourne, we know there will be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of West Australians celebrating on the weekend, watching the game, being with families and friends,” he said.

“That’s why road safety this weekend and leading into summer is critical.”

156 people have already been killed on WA roads this year alone — 18 more than last year and 24 more than 2024.

“The men and women of the Road Police Command do this job because they care about people’s lives,” Mr Blanch said.

“Our motorists may sometimes see them handing out an infringement notice, but I can tell you, it’s better than attending their loved ones’ houses, telling them that they have died on the roads.

“The men and women who are behind me, driving the cars, the motorcycles, the buses — they are out there to keep us safe, they are out to ensure that you’re doing the right thing and taking those doing the wrong thing off the road.”

Mr Blanch admitted he was a Richmond Lions supporter, but vowed he would be barracking for the Fremantle Dockers this Saturday.

“This weekend, I’m a Dockers fan, I’m normally a Richmond fan ... I really want to know what West Australians would not be barracking for the Dockers this weekend, I think we all should,” he said.

He said there would be a heightened police presence — including the canine and mounted units — in Fremantle on Saturday.

“We know that there will be a lot of people out celebrating, so we’re bringing an extra police (presence), not only from the Road Policing Command, but our general duties, our regional operations group team, also canine and we will also have the mounted branch out,” he said.

“Overwhelmingly, West Australians behave themselves and do the right thing, there is always a small number of people who choose not to, and we will be targeting them very quickly.”