How police defused a potential powder keg on our doorstep

When thousands of protesters were converging on Hyde Park for a Pro-Palestine rally, tensions were high after the prior atrocity on the steps of the Opera House. Here’s how police kept the event safe.

An early morning doorknock to three potential troublemakers kicked off the largest policing response since Black Lives Matter protests.

The community was anxious, and so too were NSW Police.

Thousands of protesters were converging on Sydney’s Hyde Park for a Pro-Palestine rally, and after the prior Monday night’s atrocity on the steps of the Opera House where a small group of protesters burned a Jewish flag, tensions were high.

But by nightfall on Sunday, around 1,100 officers working under Operation Shelter, had successfully facilitated a massive protest in the heart of the city, without incident.

Over 6,000 people filled the park - old, young - to show solidarity with Palestine, begging for an end to the “massacre in Gaza”.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner of Metropolitan Field Operations Mal Lanyon, who is overseeing Operation Shelter. Picture: Richard Dobson

The operation, led by NSW Police Deputy Commissioner of Metropolitan Field Operations Mal Lanyon and Assistant Commissioner Scott Whyte, was set up to co-ordinate high-visibility policing operations at protests, in the interest of public safety.

“That level of policing isn’t unprecedented...but based on what we had seen on Monday night, and the fact that the protest organisers weren’t co-operating with us until right before the event, we were confident that’s what we needed,” Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said.

Public Safety Orders, recently used in the ongoing war between the Alameddine and Hamzy crime families, were issued to three people on Sunday morning, banning them from attending the event.

“We had intelligence that these people, if they attended, could have posed a serious threat to public safety,” Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said.

But even after the orders were issued, police kept a watchful eye.

Things got out of had at the Opera House. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Hundreds of officers, some even bussed in from the Wollongong area and the Central Coast, kept a formidable presence.

In the Police Operation Centre in Surry Hills, dozens more monitored every movement as crowds headed to Hyde Park.

They watched feeds from CCTV cameras throughout the city, from drones and PolAir above the CBD, observing crowd behaviour while continuing a constant line of communication with a forward commander on the ground.

“We understand the heightened community tensions arising from conflict overseas, but violence, hate crimes targeting any section of the community, and unlawful behaviour has no place in NSW, and will not be tolerated by the NSW Police Force”.

The Hyde Park event was a peaceful one. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

“We will continue to support lawful and peaceful protests...we facilitate more than 1500 each year in the Sydney metropolitan area,” Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said.

Protest organisers Palestine Action Group Sydney at first resisted calls to work with police to facilitate a safe and peaceful event.

On social media, they were encouraging protesters to ignore police warnings about attending, and turn up anyway to “fight for your rights”.

But by the weekend, and amid threats to invoke some of the toughest powers police have in their arsenal, organisers agreed to work with police.

They are working productively towards another peaceful protest planned for Town Hall steps on Saturday, where up to 10,000 people are expected to show up.

Beyond monitoring protest activity, Deputy Commissioner Lanyon said Operation Shelter is about making sure the community feels safe.

“It’s to make sure people are safe, and that they feel safe..and accordingly, Operation Shelter is providing high-visibility policing right across the state every day, for as long as we feel it’s needed,” he said.

Police are also working closely with community leaders, to ensure that their safety concerns are met and they feel safe in uncertain times.