‘Keep your eyes and ears open as you travel’: Counter-terror cops roll out at Darwin Airport
Australian Federal Police officers armed with military-style rifles will soon begin patrolling the Darwin Airport as part of an anti-terror crackdown.
Northern Territory
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AUSTRALIAN Federal Police officers armed with military-style rifles will soon begin patrolling the Darwin Airport as part of a nationwide anti-terror crackdown.
The Darwin International Airport will have a new AFP Protection Operation Response Team (PORT), including a team of officers and an explosive detection dog and handler.
Travellers can expect to see an increased presence of AFP officers patrolling the airport as the program rolls out this year.
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The officers will be armed with Daniel Defense MK18 short-barrel rifles and body-mounted cameras.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Northern Command Lesa Gale said the rollout of the short-barrelled rifles was not in response to any specific threat to community safety at the airport.
“The rollout of this capability for our officers is designed to ensure Australia aligns with world-best-practice for counter-terrorism first response activity,” she said.
“It is vital we are equipped to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in Australian airports.”
Comm Gale said the MK 18 rifles provided greater strategic scope and accuracy over distance. She said all their officers had completed extensive training in using the rifles.
The AFP also launched a rebooted Airport Watch program at Darwin Airport on Wednesday to coincide with increasing domestic travel.
Comm Gale said the AFP would use Airport Watch to alert the public and aviation workers about what suspicious activity looked like and how to report it to authorities.
“The public plays a critical role working with police every day to keep their communities safe. The aviation environment is no different,” she said.
“We are calling on locals and those visiting Darwin to keep your eyes and ears open as you embark on domestic travel. Due to Covid-19 significantly disrupting both the aviation industry and organised crime supply chains, it is important to prevent any attempts by criminals to exploit these circumstances to their own criminal ends.
“Aviation industry staff and the public can make meaningful contributions to the prevention of such exploitation.
“Our message is: if you see or hear something unusual while working at or travelling through one of our major airports, please call the AFP’s Airport Watch on 131 237 – it might just prevent a crime and bring perpetrators to the attention of authorities.”
Darwin Airport executive general manager Rob Porter said they welcomed any additional measures that would enhance the safety of staff and terminal users.
“Airports are a major gateway to a city, and people travelling through them play an important role by being ‘eyes and ears’ on the ground,” Mr Porter said.
Originally published as ‘Keep your eyes and ears open as you travel’: Counter-terror cops roll out at Darwin Airport
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