Operation Vikings 1
Page: 2356
The Hon. RON DYER: My question without notice is to the Minister for Police. Will he advise the House of the latest information regarding last month's Operation Vikings 1?
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: I am very pleased to provide information to the House about a very successful operation that was undertaken on 24 and 25 May in Sydney. The operation was important because it signalled the commencement of high-impact policing—which is focused on high visibility—in this State. I am pleased to advise that 550 officers were drawn from both field and support commands to take part in the operation.
The Hon. Michael Gallacher: Operation knee-jerk!
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: It was a co-ordinated attack against crime, violence, antisocial behaviour and the possession of concealed weapons. Police officers tell me that 93 people were arrested over the 12-hour period and 100 charges were laid. Hundreds of random breath tests and knife searches were carried out and the move-on powers provided by the Government were used extensively by police officers. It is a fantastic result and I know from talking to the community that that is the type of operation that people want to see more of. People will be seeing more of them.
The Hon. Michael Gallacher: Under us, it will be every day!
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: But the Leader of the Opposition just told me it was a knee-jerk operation. Despite the heavy rain, it was a fantastic operation and the police were out in full force to deter the type of criminal activity that the community is concerned about. The operation is a sign of things to come. It was led by the new Commissioner of Police, Ken Moroney, who was assisted by senior operations police, Graham O’Neill and Ron Mason. The operation used a range of local area commands and scores of police from support commands who came out from behind their desks, as the Government promised, and out onto the streets to do front-line, visible policing. It was a real achievement.
Many of those police officers may initially have been reluctant, but the feedback now is that those police officers are looking forward to the next Operation Vikings. I welcome the fact that the New South Wales Commissioner of Police is committed to highly visible policing. Officers from the water police, police and community youth clubs, court and legal services, traffic services and education services were all part of this sweep. As I promised, police officers will be coming out from behind their desks and onto the streets to provide the visibility in policing and create the sense of security that the community wants.
The operation was a magnificent achievement by the Commissioner of Police and his team. The Commissioner has advised me that those types of operations will continue and will comprise two forms, namely, type one operations, which are similar to Operation Vikings, and type two operations, which will be focused on specific areas of crime. These intelligence-gathering and intelligence-based operations will be the basis of a co-ordinated campaign by the Government to ensure that this State has high visibility policing.
The Hon. John Ryan: By the Government, or by the commissioner?
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: By the Government and the commissioner, through the police force, to ensure that New South Wales has highly visible policing.
The Hon. John Ryan: I see. You are going to tell the police commissioner what to do.
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: I suggest that the Hon. John Ryan should read the Police Service Act. Operation Vikings was supported by the community. Only one person spoke against it—the Leader of the Opposition, John Brogden, who called it a knee-jerk operation. The only person who did not applaud visible policing was the Leader of the Opposition. That shows one thing—that the Opposition in this State has no commitment to highly visible policing and beat policing. It is an Opposition that says one thing and, when it sees in full force what the police have been able to achieve, it does the other, and criticises. It is an Opposition with no policies!