Heavily-armed police officers have started patrolling Sydney’s streets, as part of heightened security measures following last year’s deadly shooting at Bondi Beach.
The Armed Response Command (ARC) will see specially trained officers in busy tourist areas carrying long-arm rifles – an unfamiliar sight for most residents.
New South Wales police say the officers will also patrol major events like sports matches and places of worship “to prevent, deter and rapidly respond to serious threats, including active armed offender incidents”.
Fifteen people – including a 10-year-old girl – were killed in December when two gunmen opened fire on an event marking the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at the popular beach.
The attack was Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost three decades and prompted sweeping gun law reforms and a crackdown on hate speech.
One resident told ABC news that the sight of armed police was “unnerving”.
“They are just everywhere. Those guns are huge.”
But another woman told the broadcaster that seeing police with weapons made her feel safe.
ARC is specifically designed to be “highly visible across Sydney, driving specialist vehicles and carrying rifles,” New South Wales police said in a statement.
Its role “is built on a simple principle – preserving life,” Detective Superintendent Andrew Evans said.
The shooting on 14 December put huge pressure on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government, with calls for immediate action on antisemitism.
Jewish communities have welcomed the new police operation, which will eventually consist of 250 officers, but others have called for safeguards to protect human rights.
“No Australian wants to see officers with military weapons on our streets, but the sight of body bags is far worse,” Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said.
But Amnesty International Australia said it was concerned about the “militarisation of policing”, and asked for assurances from the state government that ARC will not be used to suppress peaceful protests.
“Any expansion of police powers and capabilities must be accompanied by clear, publicly accessible rules, robust independent oversight and accountability,” said the organisation’s Andrew Witheford.
The New South Wales administration defended the new measures.
“Our world changed forever. That’s just the truth of it, right across this country. And I said it at the time, we will never be the same again,” the state’s Police Minister Yasmin Catley told the ABC.
One of the alleged gunmen, Naveed Akram, has been charged with 78 offences including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one count of committing a terrorist act.
His father, Sajid Akram, 50 – who was also armed and shot at the crowd on Bondi Beach – was killed by police at the scene.
