Nick Reece is talking up his $2m city safety officers despite ‘embarrassing’ limited powers
Lord Mayor Nick Reece is adamant his much-hyped Community Safety Officers will see the “biggest change” in public safety since the introduction of PSOs, even with a clear difference in powers.
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A much-vaunted crackdown on safety in the CBD has hit a snag, with Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece’s squad of Community Safety Officers only having the power to perform a “citizen’s arrest”.
The limitations of the Community Safety Officers’ powers were revealed in the City of Melbourne’s budget press conference on Tuesday.
“What they do have is they will be well trained in managing hostile situations and dealing with situations where there are people are at risk,” Mr Reece said.
“They will have the power to make a citizen’s arrest. They will also be specialised, trained and have a very visible safety presence about them.”
Despite allocating $2m in the budget for the officers, Mr Reece was unable to say when they would start patrolling the streets or where they would be deployed.
He was also unable to answer whether the officers would be able to help a member of the public at risk.
He boldly claimed, however, that their introduction was the “biggest change to safety and policing in Victoria since the introduction of PSOs (protective service officers) on train stations over a decade ago”.
PSOs are authorised under the Crimes Act 1958 to “apprehend any person” they believe “has committed an indictable offence”. The Victoria Police Act 2013 also provides PSOs specific powers similar to a constable in locations such as train stations.
Mr Reece said: “I would expect in the first year around 10 Community Safety Officers (to be in operation).”
A report from the council’s management team will be presented to councillors to provide recommendations on how the Community Safety Officers would operate.
During last year’s election campaign, Mr Reece vowed to deliver a squad of 30 officers to patrol streets around the clock.
The council has already hired two security guards to accompany council local laws staff to manage issues such as aggressive begging or public drinking but it is understood they cannot intervene in incidents involving only members of the public.
The council’s budget included $2m from ratepayers to upgrade and expand the CCTV camera network by 100, on top of a $3.5m contribution from the Victorian government.
Ratepayers will not be slugged a rate rise in the 2025-26 financial year due to a rebate but are expected to cop what will effectively amount to a double rate rise in 2026-27.
Town hall’s parlous finances have improved slightly, with borrowings declining to $212m, down from $216m in 2024-25. The council’s cost of borrowing jumped to $6.7m, a 34.8 per cent rise on 2024-25.
It will deliver another small surplus of $150,000 in 2025-26 – the second year in a row – out of a total budget of $732.4m.
Finance, Governance and Risk portfolio lead councillor Owen Guest said town hall had to turn around “poor budgeting practices” from the previous administration.
The council’s infrastructure investment will be $154m in 2025-26 – a reduction of $70m.
Mr Reece will deliver on his pledge to provide free pet registration for 12 months.
He did not deliver his election promise to halve the cost of residents’ first parking permits or halving the hiring fee for sports groups for local clubs, with both rising slightly.
Parking fines are expected to spike significantly, with the council predicting an 8.8 per cent jump in fines revenue in 2025-26 to $40.2m.
Separately, $18m will be allocated to finish the first stage of the Greenline project.
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