Police may also require people to remove face coverings that could conceal a person\u2019s identity or protect against the effects of \u201ccrowd-control substances\u201d, such as pepper spray. Those who refuse to remove the mask can be asked to move on.<\/p>\n
Under the act, it is an offence to \u201cobstruct or hinder\u201d an officer or PSO conducting a search. Failing to comply with a police direction to leave the designated area is also an offence.<\/p>\n
Designated areas are often declared to allow police to manage major planned protests or demonstrations.<\/p>\n
But the Inner Melbourne Community Legal described the new six-month designation as a \u201cvast overreach\u201d. The legal centre\u2019s chief executive, Nadia Morales, said it was unprecedented both in its geographic scope and for the length of time it is intended to apply for.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is complete overkill by Victoria<\/a> police to designate such a large area for six months,\u201d Morales said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat it means is that a police officer or protective services officer can stop and search anyone, no questions asked, at any time in the CBD and its surrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she feared the declaration would \u201cunfairly impact\u201d minorities and vulnerable or marginalised groups, including those experiencing poor mental health and homelessness.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who are stopped randomly by police tell us it is humiliating and makes them feel like they have done something wrong,\u201d Morales said.<\/p>\n Sarah Schwartz, the legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the designation could affect any person who may be in the CBD.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople could be heading to study at the State Library, or heading to a free music gig at Federation Square and end up humiliated by Victoria police,\u201d Schwartz said.<\/p>\n In a statement provided to Guardian Australia, a spokesperson for Victoria police confirmed it was the first area to receive a declaration for this length of time under the recent changes to the act.<\/p>\n \u201cAhead of the designated area commencing on Sunday, Victoria police will be commencing further safety measures in the CBD,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cThese operations are an invaluable tool in assisting police with removing weapons from the streets, as knife crime in Victoria has risen.\u201d<\/p>\n Gemma Cafarella, the president of civil rights organisation Liberty Victoria, described the declaration as an \u201cabuse\u201d of police powers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s designed to be used in circumstances where there is some need above the kind of ordinary operation of society. So when we see that they have put this designation in place from November to May, that is a real concern,\u201d Carafella said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems to be designed to undermine the safeguards that exist otherwise in the law to protect people from being randomly searched or randomly stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n She also questioned their efficacy, pointing to a Liberty Victoria report, released in March, which found illicit items, including weapons, were seized in only 1% of searches, conducted without a warrant or reasonable suspicion, in designated areas over a two-year period.<\/p>\n The police spokesperson said Victoria police had \u201czero tolerance towards racial profiling\u201d with officers \u201cwell trained to police in response to a person\u2019s behaviour, not their background\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you aren\u2019t carrying a weapon, you don\u2019t have anything to worry about,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact Guardian AustraliaShow If you have something to share about this story, you can contact the Guardian Australia news teams using one of the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019.<\/p>\n Email<\/p>\n – If you don’t need strong security you can write to a Guardian Australia journalist using the details here<\/a>. Click on a person to see their details.\u00a0<\/p>\n – For end to end encrypted email you can create a free Protonmail<\/a> account and email\u00a0gaus.contact@protonmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Messaging apps<\/p>\n You can also use the encrypted messaging apps Signal or WhatsApp to message us at +61 490 758 250.<\/p>\n SecureDrop and other secure methods<\/p>\n If you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764057789_360_4000.jpg\")
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