Coronavirus Victoria: Hundreds more police added to ‘Operation Sentinel’

An extra 700 Victorian police officers will turn their effort to stopping the spread of coronavirus, as the state ramps up its lockdown.

Victoria Police will deploy hundreds more officers across the state as coronavirus restrictions are ramped back up.

Speaking to reporters today, Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton said Operation Sentinel, the police operation that has 500 officers around the state making sure Victorians are complying with the chief health officer’s directions, would be expanded.

From tonight, another 700 police, 1200 in total, would be involved in Operation Sentinel. Victoria confirmed 134 new cases of coronavirus today and have completed more than one million test since January 1.

“Unless you had a valid reason to leave, the huge police presence will be... it won't be an absolute ring of steel, but there will be a significant police presence,” Mr Patton said.

“A whole amount of those main arterial roads you'd expect to see on the Hume Freeway heading out to Calder, going down to Geelong, heading to Gippsland. We're going to be there from midnight tonight. We're going to be checking people. We're going to be making sure they're adhering to those guidelines. If you don't have a reason to leave, you will be turned back around.”

Around 1,000 NSW Police and defence soldiers are already on the state line, making sure the border stays closed and South Australia has more than 260 police stationed on its border with Victoria.

RELATED: Where Victoria’s new cases came from

Victoria Police will expand Operation Sentinel tonight. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Mr Patton said police also wouldn’t hesitate with issuing fines.

“If someone breaches those guidelines and leaves when they shouldn't, you'll receive an infringement of $1,652. We'll have massive booze bus-type operations. We'll have automatic number plate recognition. We'll have our teams out there and you would expect and have seen in the past the public order response teams. We'll have mounted branch. We'll have the highway patrol,” he said, detailing all the different types of police that would be stationed across the state.

“Every one of the divisions right across the 31 local government areas and the Mitchell Shire, each police superintendent has been appointed as a police commander in those areas. They have personal responsibility for making sure activities, policing activities, and operations are focused on the enforcement of the guidelines as well as the state operation we have sitting over the top of it.”

Mr Patton said the Australian Defence Force would also be more visible from today however they “cannot replace police”.

“The (ADF) will be of invaluable assistance for us but they cannot replace police in terms of the policing responsibilities we have and where we need powers to do that. I think I've made it fairly clear along the way — and I've said in the past — the window of police discretion is closing,” Mr Patton said.

“There's only a little crack in that window still open because we're way past a discretionary aspect. We've done this before in restrictions we've been through. People know what to do. They know what to expect. And the vast majority are doing the right thing but moving forward through these type of restrictions, if you don't, we will issue infringements and it will be a rare occasion and exception where discretion is used.”

Police in NSW at the border city of Albury checking cars crossing the state border from Victoria. Picture: William West/AFP

Despite most Victorians doing the right thing, Mr Patton lashed some people for being “stupid and selfish”.

“When I say people are doing the right thing as a majority, we've still got others who are doing stupid, selfish, reckless actions,” he said.

“Sunday night we had an Airbnb party in Southbank where 15 people thought it was OK to get together and party.

“We issued every one of them infringements because they just can't do it. Some people are still not listening and if the only way we can get through to them to listen and to adhere to the directions is through us giving out significant fines, that's what we'll do.”