Unprecedented police presence for New Year’s celebrations
Police will be granted extended weapon search powers and have back-up from specialist response teams as hundreds of thousands of revellers turn out for Melbourne’s fireworks show.
New Year’s Eve revellers in Melbourne will be treated to a seven-minute midnight fireworks show and a new multi-directional laser display as an unprecedented number of police are deployed to keep them safe.
The celebrations are expected to attract more than 500,000 people to the CBD, and there will be 2500 police rostered to work on Wednesday night – including 500 in the inner city.
Melbourne’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display in 2024.Credit: Simon Schluter
General duty officers will be supported by specialists from the public order response team, mounted police and the critical incident response team (CIRT).
“Community safety is a paramount responsibility for our government, and that’s why we’re focused on having more police than ever on the beat this New Year,” acting Police Minister Enver Erdogan said.
“I want to stress that there’s absolutely no threat to any event in Victoria. But we’re taking absolutely every precaution,” he said.
While CIRT police will be equipped with heavy weaponry, their public visibility will be minimal on Wednesday evening.
Heavily armed CIRT officers were seen on foot patrols outside the MCG on Boxing Day. The NSW police force has announced that some of its officers will carry large, long-arm weapons at major New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Heavily armed CIRT police on patrol outside the MCG on Boxing Day.Credit: Christopher Hopkins
“They’ll be in their cars so they can get to where they need to be really quickly,” Victoria Police acting commander Troy Papworth said of CIRT officers. “You won’t see them out on foot like you did at the Boxing Day Test.”
Designated areas for police to search for weapons will also be declared along the St Kilda foreshore and in the Geelong CBD.
The controversial powers allow officers to search people randomly without a warrant, under the Weapons Control Act. In November areas in and around Melbourne’s CBD were deemed a designated area for six months.
