'Overreach and overzealous': concerns over Victoria's proposed new police powers
Police have been part of many Victorians daily life throughout the second wave of the pandemic – stopping cars at checkpoint, knocking on doors to ensure people in quarantine are complying and roaming the streets catching those failing to wear a mask.
Now a new bill has been introduced to parliament that could widen the role of law enforcement – a move that the state government argues is vital but has been condemned by a number of Victorian civil rights groups and the state’s opposition.
What powers do police actually have during this time of crisis, and how could this new bill increase them?
How does the state of emergency and disaster increase police power?
Police and other emergencies service officers are given power in a state of disaster by the police minister who can appoint them as authorised officers, able to enforce the new public health directions.
As authorised officers, police are able to arrest or fine people for acting against the chief health officer directions, such as attending public protests, breaking curfew or not wearing a face covering. They can now search homes and cars without warrants, and have a greatly expanded ability to compel members of the public to give their name and address – usually only required if you are driving a vehicle or suspected of committing a crime.
They can also have power to control a person’s entry into and from the disaster area.
What are the concerns over increased police powers?
A number of civil rights group in Victoria have expressed concern over these increased police powers, including the possibility of over-policing of disadvantaged areas.
The Police Accountability Project, a taskforce at the Flemington & Kensington Community Legal Centre, published a list of 10 concerns over increased policing during lockdowns, including that heavy policing could be normalised.
“There are lots of incidents of overreach and overzealous policing [generally], and these have discriminant and disproportionate impacts on particular communities … So those same patterns are repeating themselves on a broad scale [during] Covid,” Anthony Kelly, executive office of the Police Accountability Project, said.
An interim report from the state government revealed the three poorest local government areas in Melbourne received 10% of all fines in the first two months of the pandemic, while the three most advantaged areas received only a combined 2%.
Police minister Lisa Neville and senior police officers have stated repeatedly it will be up to individual police discretion when to issue fines, which Kelly argues can be problematic for traditionally marginalised groups.
The deputy police commissioner of regional operations, Rick Nugent, addressed some of the public concerns in a media conference on Wednesday.
“You see a lot of commentary about a police state and the police actions. Our people are in out there day in day out … checking people at checkpoints, checking people moving around outside of curfew. They are doing it to help keep the community safe,” he said.
“We absolutely have a role in this to ensure that those that are deliberately, blatantly breaching the restrictions are caught and appropriately fined.”
What powers could the new bill give authorised officers?
The Covid-19 omnibus (emergency measures) and other acts amendment bill 2020, which went before parliament this week, proposes to broaden the type of people who can be appointed as authorised officers, as well as expanding their powers to detain people likely to refuse or fail to comply with quarantining directions.
Liberty Victoria president Julian
Burnside said this was concerning.
“[It] introduces a preventative detention regime which appears to have little protections or oversight, and provides far too much discretion to people who may lack the necessary expertise to determine risk, including police officers,” he said.
The Age newspaper reported that thiscould be applied to conspiracy theorists who refuse to quarantine or severely drug-affected or mentally impaired people who are unable to compile with self-isolation orders.
What about the role of PSOs?
The police and emergency legislation amendment bill 2020, passed through the legislative assembly on Friday, aims to expand the power of protective services officer (PSOs), a branch of Victoria police, from just the public transport network and city to shopping centres, sports grounds and other crowded places.
Ariel Couchman, chief executive of Youthlaw, said this was extremely troubling.
“PSO training is grossly inadequate, with a mere 12 weeks of training before they are able to carry lethal weapons into our most crowded community spaces and have the power to detain and move people on,” she said.
“We already hear about incidents at train stations involving PSOs and excessive fining of particular groups of young people [including] those with mental illness and people of colour.”
Did the state of disaster cause the recent controversial police interactions?
While the state of disaster is not directly responsible for all the recently publicised videos of Victoria police, the increased presence of police and additional public safety directions play a significant role in many of them.
The high-profile arrest of pregnant
Ballarat mum Zoe Lee Buhler, which was live-streamed on Facebook, was due to a law prohibiting “incitement”. While the charge of incitement isn’t part of any emergency legislation, the crime which she allegedly incited was – organising a large gathering during a pandemic.
Another video showed Melbourne woman, Natalie Bonett, being dragged from her car while screaming after she allegedly refused to provide her details to police. While the police’s ability to demand a person provide details has expanded during the pandemic, this was always a legal requirement if you are operating a vehicle.
But a police statement confirmed she was at a road checkpoint, therefore likely only interacted with police due to the increased law enforcement presence during the pandemic.
One of the most discussed videos shows an arrest in Epping in which a mentally ill man appears to be hit with a police car, pepper-sprayed and have his head allegedly stomped on by an officer. While this has raised questions about police accountability, it does not appear to be connected to lockdowns, as police were called to the areas by the hospital when the man left the facility after he allegedly broke the glass doors.