Parents slam Westfield Southland over graphic police training session

Westfield Southland has come under scrutiny from parents after their kids were left terrified over a confronting police training session that involved weapons.

Disgruntled parents have slammed Westfield Southland over a police training session. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

A popular Melbourne shopping centre has come under scrutiny after parents claim not enough warning was given about a graphic police training session.

Victoria Police conducted critical incident response training on level three at Westfield Southland on Wednesday night from 7pm to 10pm.

In a memo sent on April 6, centre management informed retailers about the drill.

“We advise that this area will be restricted and unable to be accessed by staff, contractors and the public during this time,” it read.

“Training scenarios will include the use of weapons which can be loud, please note no live ammunition will be used at any stage.

“If you anticipate any of your team members still being inside the centre during this time, we ask that you please make them aware of the training.

“In the event your store is trading during this period in another area of the centre, signage will be clearly displayed to alert customers, retailers and contractors that training is occurring.

“If customers come to you with concerns or queries, please advise them that this is a training exercise.”

A sign about the training session at Westfield Southland.

But disgruntled parents told the Herald Sun their children had been left terrified after footage emerged of shoppers running in fear on social media.

The video, believed to be filmed at the centre, showed three people running down an escalator as a shot was fired in the background.

A photo was also posted of a police officer pointing a firearm in front of Bed Bath N Table during the training session.

The centre closed at 5.30pm but stores including Coles, Village Cinemas and Kmart remained opened.

Tash Lee said her 19-year-old daughter was now too scared to shop at Southland.

“I understand they have to train but when the general public is around, they need to be warned or better yet, wait until everyone has gone,” she said.

“We now have teens afraid to go hang out at the centre. It’s what they do during the holidays and now they are terrified.”

Ms Lee said some of her friends have banned their children from visiting the centre.

Other parents took to social media to vent their frustration about the training session.

“I’m not sure how Victoria Police or Southland management think that it’s OK to run this with anyone in the centre,” Natalie Currie said.

“It’s caused a great amount of distress and panic in the teens who have seen the footage, fake or not.”

Another woman labelled the training as “chaos” and “absolute stupidity”.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said “extensive measures” were taken to notify retailers “well in advance”.

“This notification included the date and hours of the exercise, the level where it was occurring and advised there may be loud noises,” she said.

“Signs were also erected in the centre as a further precaution advising any members of the public present that a training exercise was taking place.

“Specialist police conduct a variety of training in a range of environments to best re-create real-life scenarios.”

It’s understood three more training sessions will take place at Southland on April 19, April 26 and May 3.

Westfield Australia was contacted for comment.