Police to get semiautomatic rifles to beef up firepower
Hundreds of police will be trained to use semiautomatic rifles next year, so officers facing terror attacks or shooters won’t have to wait for a specialist unit when “every second counts”.
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Semiautomatic rifles will be available to police in public order units and regional areas to cut response times to terror attacks and active shooter emergencies.
Three hundred will be delivered next year as the state government beefs up police firepower.
The AR-15s, made by Australian manufacturer Huntsman, hold a 30-round magazine of .223 calibre ammunition and cost $5750 each.
The broadened availability of such weapons means police will not have to wait for officers from a specialist unit like the critical incident response team or the special operations group.
More than 700 officers will be trained in the rifles’ use, Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said.
Mr Patton said he hoped the weapons would never be used but they had to be available for the types of situation where “every second counts” against heavily armed offenders.
“You don’t take a knife to a gunfight,” he said. “It will be a very sad day if the rifles are used, but the reality is we need to be prepared if an active armed offender or terrorist attack was to occur in regional Victoria.”
Mr Patton said the semi automatic rifles were a “good outcome” for Victoria Police.
“The public won’t see us walking around with them (the guns), they will be secured in special carriage systems. If we do need them, it will be a very bad day,” he said.
“This is keeping with our active armed defender policy. This added firepower will allow us to do that. It is a fantastic innovation in those key country areas.”
Mr Patton said police “need to be able to compete” and stop any potential threats such as active shooters.
Members from the public order response team and officers at 24-hour stations in Geelong, Ballarat, Morwell and Shepparton will have access to the AR-15s.
The team is a flexible frontline support unit used across the state where needed.
The guns will only be used for critical incidents and held in special high-security storage.
“They will be taken out when they have to use them. That will be when a critical incident is evolving,” Mr Patton said.
The guns will be available from mid next year. Their introduction follows the adoption of a new policy aimed at strengthening the response to suspects trying to use cars or trucks to cause mass casualties.
The rollout is part of a $25 million investment from the state government.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said the rollout would give police the best possible equipment in an era of emerging risks.
“These semiautomatic rifles will help police officers respond quickly to major incidents at short notice,” she said.
Ms Neville also said “the world situation is changing” with terrorism concerns.
“We need to make sure our police have the right equipment to respond as quickly as possible to those situations,” Ms Neville said.
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“This is not about day to day policing. This is equipment used in those really critical situations like an active shooter, like a terrorist attack, like a hostage situation.
“Those who will be using it will be specially trained.
“This does mean regional areas now have a much faster capability to respond to any of those really serious critical incidents and not have to wait for the resources.”