Our men and women in black need a full-time specialist role
After 40 years, much has changed for the Special Operations Group, says Colin Riley
TASMANIA’S Special Operations Group is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The history of the SOG-ies, “the officers in black”, is one of the protection of the Tasmanian community, often in the most extreme of circumstances. The SOG motto is “Si Opus Sit” – or colloquially, “Where There Is Need.” Currently, Tasmania is the only jurisdiction without a full-time police tactical group. The Police Association of Tasmania is having discussion with government and all sides of politics about the need for a 20-person squad – 10 South and 10 North – to be fully funded. The SOG-ies in Tasmania are essentially volunteers, managing their day jobs and being called into action when required. At a siege in Trevallyn, which was resolved without injury, SOG members had a 20-second countdown to enter a house because of fears for someone’s life. Look at your watch … watch 20 seconds tick by. It’s not a long time to make a decision and risk you own lives to save someone else. But that’s what the members of the SOG do every day, although much of what they do goes unnoticed by the general Tasmanian community – which is as it should be! – in terms of surveillance and other intelligence gathering capabilities they have. And in the Trevallyn incident, SOG members were reporting for duty having already worked 10 hours at their “regular” job. The Police Association nominated the SOG members involved in Trevallyn for a Police Federation of Australia Bravery Award, the only recognition they have received so far in Tasmania. The origin of the SOG lies with one of the most heinous crimes or acts of terrorism in Australia’s history – the Hilton bombing in 1978. From this incident a national body – the Standing Advisory Committee on Commonwealth and State Cooperation for Protection Against Violence (SAC-PAV) was formed, which has since morphed into the Australia New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee. Tasmania’s major incident in this area was of course the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996, which was also an example of cross-jurisdictional cooperation, when Victoria sent SOG members to assist. Tasmania has been involved in major national operations, like the 2007 APEC conference (when four SOG members were on the massive security operation of 120 to protect President George W. Bush), the 2006
Commonwealth Games and regular CHOGM conferences.
What people do not realise is the commitment made by the existing part-time SOGies.
They train for 45 days a year, often going to the Special Forces training centre in Holsworthy Sydney or Swanbourne in Western Australia, for skills enhancement programs.
The landscape in which the SOG works has changed dramatically since 1996 and Port Arthur and most importantly since its inception 40 years ago.
It is a continually evolving workspace, with new threats facing the Tasmanian and Australian community.
We must prepare daily for Active Armed Offenders and Hostile Vehicle Mitigation, the latter when an offender uses a car or truck as a weapon against people or property.
A lot of the SOG’s work goes unnoticed, because superior, modern surveillance techniques and tactical methodologies enable the apprehension of offenders before incidents occur.
The difference between the SOG and police officers on general duties is that the latter will “contain” an incident, while the SOG will resolve the more dramatic situations, such as siege incidents or extreme violence. Further, the SOG have higher levels of training and equipment.
And another development has been the increase in “lesslethal” tactics and equipment, such as flexible baton rounds, chemical weapon deployment and tasers – to more safely and with the minimal amount of force arrest dangerous offenders.
The Special Operations Group will continue to do what it does every day – protecting Tasmanians and the community, just like Tasmania Police officers do every day.
Hopefully, into the future, we will be able to do that work even more professionally.