PSOs making arrests without backing of law
PSO officers have been making arrests for years. But shock legal advice has now revealed they’ve been doing so without the backing of the law.
Law & Order
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Shock legal advice has revealed the state’s protective services officers have been making arrests without the backing of the law.
Victoria Police tonight confirmed PSO’s did not have the legislative power to make arrests over outstanding warrants.
PSO’s have for years been detaining people who are the subject of unresolved warrants relating to failure to appear at court.
The force is now deploying police officers to back PSO teams operating at Melbourne railway stations as a temporary solution.
They will be responsible for making arrests.
Those measures are expected to be in place for weeks as the legislative changes are made to PSO powers.
The issue was uncovered during a recent review of PSO training material.
A drafting error from 2011 is being blamed, and the state government will move quickly to fix the problem.
“The Liberals botched the drafting of this legislation and we’re now working with Victoria Police to fix it as a matter of priority to ensure our Protective Services Officers have the powers they need to keep the community safe,” a government spokeswoman said.
“Victoria Police has clear legal advice that the overwhelming majority of arrests made by PSOs have been lawful.”
Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said the issue did not relate to a high number of cases.
He said most of the 500 warrant arrests made last year were accompanied by “the commission of other criminal offending.”
It was “rare” for PSO’s to make arrests solely based on outstanding warrants, Mr Hill said.
“The issue we have identified relates to a very small percentage of the total arrests made by PSOs, as few as one or two a day. It was an issue created in the drafting of the original legislation which supported the inception of the PSO Transit Policing Model in 2011,” Mr Hill said last night.
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“We are working on a fix with the state government to ensure our PSOs continue to have the powers they need.”
Mr Hill maintained confidence in the PSO system.
“Our PSO’s do an exceptional job keeping people safe on our public transport system. Every day they step forward, protecting the community and making arrests, in good faith and in accordance with their training,” he said.
A Police Association spokesman said the organisation was satisfied that the matter would be quickly resolved.