Security increase the new normal
ANTI- TERROR security measures will become regular features at Geelong’s major events, the region’s new police chief has revealed.
About 200 concrete bollards were installed across Melbourne last June, to help prevent motorists carrying out similar attacks to the fatal Bourke St, London and Nice incidents.
The security bollards were then used over the Australia Day weekend in Geelong, when tens of thousands of visitors descended on the waterfront for cycling and sailing events.
They were also in place for Torquay’s Anzac Day service at Point Danger, which is one of the most heavily attended in the state.
Western Region Assistant Commissioner Cindy Millen said police managed about 130 events on Geelong’s burgeoning social calendar.
She told the Geelong Advertiser that the increased security did not indicate there were specific threats, but would become a routine measure.
“Coming from (Melbourne), that is normal to me now, but I know living here it is not something Geelong has been exposed to before,” Assistant Commissioner Millen said. “They are definitely preventive measures that we will just roll out in any event to keep the community safe.
“It won’t be in response to any particular threat, but that’s just the base level of security that we need to provide for the community. “It will be the new normal.” The City of Greater Geelong has previously said that it is guided by Australia’s antiterrorism strategy, compiled last year.
It requires all event organisers to submit an emergency management plan that meets public safety standards and is proportionate to the risks posed by their activity and location.
Read more about Cindy Millen in Weekend Extra: Page 31