Police Commissioner: State needs response unit with rifles
Police patrolling public places carrying rifles is a critical step to keep every South Australian protected from harm, writes Police Commissioner Grant Stevens.
Opinion
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SAPOL’s new Security Response Section has been the subject of some public commentary since it was launched last week. I feel it is important for me to correct some of the reactions to police patrolling public places carrying rifles.
Now available to ensure public safety are 48 highly trained SRS members in vulnerable locations such as crowded places and major events. This is not an extra imposition on the community or a gradual creep in the arming of our police – it is a critical step enabling us to protect everyone from harm.
I realise this may be confronting for some. However, I believe this type of capability plays a necessary role in assuring the community that police can respond to the reality of issue-motivated violent incidents.
The world has changed dramatically, and we know from incidents interstate and internationally, there are people in our community who wish to cause us all harm. Particularly in crowded places.
Australia’s National Terrorism Threat Level remains at probable. It is naive to think that a city the size of Adelaide, or indeed anywhere in South Australia, is immune to acts of extreme violence or terror attacks.
The carrying of this equipment is about public safety, along with our ability to prevent these types of incidents and respond quickly when they occur.
We have seen in other jurisdictions how properly equipped police responding to armed assailants or hostile vehicle incursions have prevented further casualties.
Victoria Police introduced similar firearms in 2019 following an incident when a man stabbed three people in an attack in Melbourne’s Bourke St Mall.
Later that month three people were arrested in Melbourne who were allegedly involved in planning a mass casualty attack in the city. So concern about attacks in crowded public places in Australia is not an improbable threat.
In February, a man in South London was stopped by police with a hoax device strapped to his body. He stabbed three people and police officers with similar equipment to our SRS were quickly on the scene, stopping him from injuring or killing any other innocent civilians.
Only two months ago in Western Australia there was a stabbing attack at a South Hedland shopping centre in the Pilbara, which left five people in hospital. Police responded by using firearms to prevent the man from killing others. He died at the scene.
These are examples where a quick response prevented multiple deaths. Let’s not forget James Gargasoulas in Bourke St Mall, the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, the mass shooting in our sister city Christchurch, or the recent stabbings in a public park in the centre of Reading, England.
Then, only two weeks ago we saw the frenzied attack in Glasgow, Scotland, where six people including a police officer were stabbed. Sadly there are many more examples where the lives of innocent people are threatened by violent perpetrators.
There has been speculation following the SRS rollout that police now have a special licence to shoot to kill – this is alarmist and untrue.
Police have the authority to use force to prevent the loss of innocent lives. But that force must be proportionate to the threat faced.
We have always had this authority and it is one we take very seriously.
SRS is an extra layer of protection for South Australians at large events and where large crowds gather. SRS members will be on the ground, ready and equipped to act swiftly and expertly should a critical incident occur.
They are highly trained in the use of all their tactical options and in the safe handling and use of firearms.
The creation of the SRS was not a decision taken lightly and they will be deployed to protect all South Australians and visitors to our state.
Their presence is not an indicator that there is a specific danger or threat, it should be seen as a reassurance that SAPOL is properly trained and deployed to ensure a safer community.