Candid cameras on patrol as NSW police get tough

Bondi beachgoers in Sydney’s east were shocked to discover they were under surveillance by portable CCTV cameras on Monday, as NSW police ramped up patrols.

Mounted police at Bondi Beach on Monday as NSW police ramp up patrols and compliance measures to enforce the state’s tough new lockdown rules. Picture: Liam Mendes

Bondi beachgoers in Sydney’s east were shocked to discover they were under surveillance by portable CCTV cameras on Monday, as NSW police ramped up patrols and compliance measures to enforce the state’s tough new lockdown rules.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the crackdown and harsher penalties would provide a much needed “circuit-breaker” to help drive down Covid-19 case numbers.

A major police operation is under way, with state highway pat­rol monitoring roadblocks and checkpoints in a bid to limit movement out of Sydney, and hundreds of police officers under instruction to issue tickets for noncompliance.

Mr Fuller has issued a directive to all officers not to issue warnings and cautions to people who breach public health orders but to prosecute to the letter of the law.

As NSW recorded 478 locally acquired cases of Covid-19 – the highest number the state has recorded since the beginning of the current outbreak – Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that “our community transmission numbers are disturbingly high”.

Seven new deaths were also ­recorded.

In Bondi, locals said the police cameras, which are stationed near the Bondi Beach outdoor gym, were intimidating and a major over-reach by authorities.

Bondi local Dimitri Moskovich said residents were already adhering to restrictions and socially distancing. “The constant police presence is intimidating for normal, law-abiding citizens. They’re not used to being intimidated by police. These cameras, it’s like Big Brother. It’s a message to everybody that we’re being watched,” he said.

“I honestly believe Bondi Beach has been chosen as a scapegoat and being blamed for things we haven’t done. Without any question, we are lucky here because we’re all by the beach – but it doesn’t mean we’re doing something wrong.”

Last year during the first lockdown, footage of Mr Moskovich being arrested by police went viral after he jumped a fence to go for a swim. He was charged with resisting arrest and failing to comply with a notice in a public place.

In March this year, the charges were dropped, with police agreeing to pay his legal fees, which amounted to $25,000.

“I get a bit sick of every night seeing Bondi on the news – it’s always Bondi,” said a woman who would only give her name as ­Catherine.

“I think they’ve always had a large police presence here and I think people have been taking it seriously from the beginning,” she said, noting that her whole family contracted Covid-19 last year.

However, her friend Tom said the police presence did help with social distancing