source : the age
A dedicated NSW Police command to deploy heavily armed officers to patrol religious events such as Ramadan will require 250 officers, but the government remains tight-lipped on how much funding it will commit to the force.
The new Armed Response Command effectively makes permanent Operation Shelter, the state’s police response to incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia since the October 7, 2023, terror attack and war in the Middle East. The command will patrol in the community, at religious and community events with potential risk of attacks, and be on standby to rapidly respond to threats at any time of day.
The exact dollar figure of the “significant investment” from the state government will not be revealed until the next state budget, Premier Chris Minns said.
Experienced officers will be sourced from commands around Sydney, and newly hired probationary constables will be prioritised for deployment to those stations with created vacancies.
“The work of this command will actually provide relief to the commands we’re tasking for the Operation Shelter. We’re currently using offices from police area commands on overtime, on extended shifts, which is impacting on their employees at their current commands – we want to make sure we release that burden,” NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.
The announcement comes after senior NSW Police officers travelled to the United Kingdom and Germany in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack to learn how to change policing efforts from reactionary to proactive in the face of terror threats.
“The sad reality is that the Bondi terror attack is only weeks old, but we need to be in a situation six months, two years, five years from that event, and still have the public be in a safe situation,” Minns said.
Police will also receive new vehicles and more multicultural liaison officers hired to keep police across what is happening on the ground in different communities around the state.
Recruitment and reliance on police working overtime shifts is a challenge for the force, as is the heavy police presence needed to respond to frequent protests in the city.
Information released by the police under freedom of information laws shows that up to July last year, $11.2 million was spent on Operation Shelter alone. It is expected to take up to 18 months to get the new command fully operational.
Opposition police spokesman Anthony Roberts welcomed the announcement but questioned how the force will be able to find enough resources to staff the new command.
“There are critical questions as to whether NSW Police have the resourcing they need to staff this new unit without diverting officers from critical frontline policing roles, particularly in Sydney’s west, south-west and north-west,” Roberts said.
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Jessica McSweeney is a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald covering urban affairs and state politics.Connect via email.
