The new patrol unit was promised in the wake of the Bondi terror attack and has been welcomed by sections of the Jewish community, with police saying it aims to deter threats and better position police to respond to armed offender attacks. But the decision to heavily arm the unit has been met with a mixed response from experts and civil liberties groups, with some warning against the potential for \u201cmission creep\u201d and the \u201cAmerican-style militarisation of our police force\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Preserving life\u2019<\/p>\n
In May, the NSW police deputy commissioner David Hudson told the royal commission into antisemitism that police were outgunned<\/a> at the 14 December Bondi massacre. They were armed with 9mm Glock pistols while the alleged shooters \u2013 one of whom was shot dead by police \u2013 were armed with rifles, which have a greater range.<\/p>\n The Jewish community had asked for a dedicated police presence<\/a> at the Hanukah event in the days before the tragedy took place, due to the high threat level, but only junior roaming patrol officers were in the area when the shooting began.<\/p>\n In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Police Association of NSW began arguing for officers to be issued with long-armed weapons more consistently.<\/p>\n \u2018No Australian wants to see officers with military weapons on our streets, but the sight of body bags is far worse,\u2019 says Alex Ryvchin. Photograph: Flavio Brancaleone\/Reuters<\/p>\n NSW riot police have had access to long-arm rifles since at least 2017. As of 2019 the NSW police force had issued 1,500 long-arm firearms, according to information provided to parliament<\/a>.<\/p>\n The new unit, known as the Armed Response Command, will include 200 specialist trained officers who will drive specialist cars, carry military rifles and be \u201chighly visible\u201d across Sydney, police have said.<\/p>\n The unit\u2019s commander, Det Supt Andrew Evans, said the unit was built on the principle of \u201cpreserving life\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOperational readiness is about ensuring that if the community needs us on its worst day, we can perform at our best,\u201d he said in a media statement last week.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n Julian Droogan, a counter-terrorism expert at Macquarie University, says while it makes sense to harden security around locations such as the Opera House and Bondi beach, which may be targeted in an attack, there is a risk it could just push attacks towards \u201csofter targets\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot police your way out of the challenge of terrorism, you have to be able to address it also at the root cause,\u201d Droogan says.<\/p>\n He says it remains to be seen whether visibly arming police officers will make the community feel safer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to be careful of distinguishing between a political response, which wants to look tough on terrorism, to a response that actually does help address the problem because it is a real problem.\u201d<\/p>\n The NZ example<\/p>\n New Zealand police carried long-arm rifles for six weeks in the immediate aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch terror attack, where a lone shooter killed 51 people across two mosques.<\/p>\n It was major departure for NZ police, who are usually unarmed. General duty officers do have access to a Glock and a Taser, like Australian police, but they keep both weapons and a rifle locked in their car during routine duties, according to John Battersby, a former NZ police officer turned security expert at Massey University. NZ police have an active armed offender unit, but its officers are on call and don\u2019t patrol.<\/p>\n The country trialled an armed police unit in the wake of the Christchurch attack but it was soon scrapped<\/a>. The then police commissioner, Andrew Coster, said the decision to remain unarmed was made after consultation with the NZ community.<\/p>\n \u201c[Armed patrol teams] do not align with the style of policing that New Zealanders expect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In Australia, where patrolling officers already carry a handgun and Taser, the community may respond differently. But Battersby warns of the potential for \u201cmission creep\u201d and a potential change in the attitudes of police.<\/p>\n
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