Luke Cornelius says only thing to stop hardcore anti-lockdown protesters is to put them in custody
There’s only one thing that will stop serial anti-lockdown protesters, says a top Victorian cop, as he revealed jail time was something for consideration.
The only thing to stop serial anti-lockdown protesters is to lock them up, one of Victoria’s top cops says.
Speaking after a wild and “volatile” anti-lockdown rally again plagued the streets of Melbourne, a visibly frustrated Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said repeatedly fining hardcore protesters made “no difference”.
At least 15 people were arrested and a police officer was pushed to the ground and kicked as chaos erupted on the streets of the CBD on Thursday night after Premier Daniel Andrews declared a sixth lockdown.
Mr Cornelius said their “very particular beef” was with a “hardcore element of violent criminals” who used the protests as an opportunity to fight police, and the $1817 fine wasn’t a deterrent for them.
“These are people who are dressing themselves out as advocates for mums and dads and business owners who are really doing it hard,” he said.
When asked by NCA NewsWire if there was scope within the state of emergency act to create an indictable offence with a penalty of jail time for breaching the chief health officer’s directions, Mr Cornelius said it was “something for consideration”.
”These individuals, no matter what penalties you put in front of them, if they don’t believe in our laws, and they don’t believe in our system of government, the only thing that will stop them is to have them in custody,” he said.
Mr Cornelius said four of those arrested were known to police as the organisers of the protests that have plagued the city over the past months and across six Covid-19 lockdowns.
He said the alleged offenders would be assessed for charges that were available to police, such as incitement, but the courts generally only imposed a penalty consistent with the available fine of $1817.
“It’s pretty clear to us, we’ve been playing with these same people week in week out over the last 18 months, and that sort of accountability is not having an impact,” Mr Conelius said.
“Their fines remain unpaid, and they turn up again and again to commit those offences.”
He said the courts had been more supportive when protest organisers had been arrested again for breaching bail over repeating the offending.
Mr Cornelius said he was not an advocate for Victoria becoming a police state but it was becoming “incredibly frustrating” for officers to be dealing with the same individuals engaging in the same behaviour.
He warned any protesters found to be repeat offenders who had been fined previously for breaches of the chief health officer’s directions could expect to be hurled before the courts, as the fines had no impact on their behaviour.
“We will no longer be fining them, we will be submitting briefs to evidence and presenting them to court so the court can deal with them,” he said.
“It’s (clear) to us that there are a number of people for whom being fined makes no difference; it’s evident that they don’t believe the fines are ever going to be paid and they don’t believe the laws of our land apply to them.”
Mr Cornelius said police weren’t anticipating further protests across the weekend but they were ready to take action if they did occur.
Originally published as Luke Cornelius says only thing to stop hardcore anti-lockdown protesters is to put them in custody
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