On Friday, 9 February 2024, a Protective Services Officer (PSO) fired two gunshots at a 20-year-old man near Flinders Street Station, after the victim allegedly chased another PSO with a broken bottle down the street. 1 The man was later taken to hospital with wounds to the stomach.
The next day, Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter told the press that what had occurred was ‘terribly unfortunate’ but maintained that the PSO appropriately used the tactical options available to him at the time. The PSO that day was armed with oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray and a gun.2
The incident is cause for concern that PSOs are being equipped with lethal weapons which they are deploying unnecessarily, particularly in light of their limited training requirements.
Victoria’s taser rollout
In December 2021, the state government announced that more than $200 million had been allocated to provide 6000 police and PSOs in metropolitan Melbourne with Tasers by 2026. 3
At the time of the rollout, the government vowed to ensure all officers who carry the 50,000-volt shock devices would receive extensive training with the tasers to be connected to body-worn cameras to provide an extra level of oversight. 4 Accordingly, a PSO’s body-worn camera would automatically activate to record what has happened when a taser is used. In August 2023, Victoria Police entered into an agreement with US-based supplier Axon to supply the Taser 7 model (also referred to as a ‘conducted energy device’ (CED)) as part of the rollout continuing until September 2026.5
However, civil liberties groups have raised concerns about more PSOs being armed with tasers, especially those who generally patrol train stations and have far less training than general duties police. 6 In response to the call-out, Victoria Police has maintained that training venues are being established to teach police officers and PSOs how to safely handle the weaponry. According to Minister for Police Anthony Carbines, ‘[p]olice and PSOs receiving tasers for the first time will complete two days of training and those having their taser replaced will complete a one-day upgrade course.’ 7
What training do PSOs receive?
PSOs undertake 12 weeks of full-time training at the Victoria Police Academy. Prospective PSOs are trained on the relevant law, communication skills, operational safety tactics, and drills.8 Their training course pales in comparison to the 31 weeks a police officer spends at the Victoria Police Academy, which is followed by a further 20 weeks of placement and 63 weeks of ‘on the job’ training. 9
Notwithstanding their very limited training, PSOs are empowered to wield firearms, tasers and OC spray against members of the public. PSOs have the same powers of arrest as ordinary police officers within their designated areas (eg railway premises and adjoining areas).10
What powers do PSOs have?
Under section 52 of the Victoria Police Act 2013 (VPA), a PSO has, in the performance of their functions, the duties and powers of a constable at common law.11This includes their more well-known powers to ask a person for their name and address and to issue fines for public transport offences.12
However, PSOs also have extensive powers of arrest and detainment. PSOs on duty at a designated place may, like police officers, arrest any person without a warrant whom they believe on reasonable grounds has committed an indictable offence.13They may also stop and search the person for weapons and detain the person for so long as is reasonably necessary to conduct such a search, provided that police officers are also conducting searches in the designated area.14 Further, under section 351(1) of the Mental Health Act 2014, PSOs may apprehend a person who appears to have a mental illness, if they are satisfied that because of the person’s mental illness, they need to be apprehended to prevent serious and imminent harm to themselves or to another person.
The list of ‘designated places’ in which PSOs can exercise such powers of arrest and detainment includes:
-
- any large area, including the central business district of Melbourne or any part of it;15
-
- an area surrounding or adjacent to a sporting or entertainment venue, or a place of mass gathering;16and
In April 2024, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) released its review of Victoria Police’s use of OC spray, and found that ‘in many cases the decisions and actions of police escalated incidents or increased the safety risk of those involved’.19
Considering the limited training, broad powers of arrest and provision of injurious and potentially lethal weapons to PSOs as well as the existing issues surrounding use of force within Victoria Police, the rules in place regarding PSO weaponry use ought to be re-evaluated.
Author: Athena Prokopis
1Alex Crowe, ‘PSO who shot man in Melbourne CBD had a gun – but no Taser’, The Age (online, 10 February 2024) <https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/pso-who-shot-man-in-melbourne-cbd-had-a-gun-but-no-taser-20240210-p5f3wu.html>.
2Ibid.
3Ibid.
4Erin Pearson, ‘Victoria to issue all frontline police with Tasers’, The Age (online, 23 December 2021) https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victoria-to-issue-all-frontline-police-with-tasers-20211223-p59jrp.html.
5Hon Jacinta Allan MP, ‘New Conducted Energy Devices For Public Order Response’ (Media Release, 20 August 2023) <https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/site-4/new-conducted-energy-devices-public-order-response>.
6 Pearson (n 4).
7Letter from Hon Anthony Carbines MP to Elenore Levi (Australian Lawyers Alliance), 12 March 2024.
8 ‘Training for protective services officers’, Victoria Police (Web Page, 25 July 2024) <https://www.police.vic.gov.au/protective-services-officer-training>.
9‘Victoria Police Academy and police training’, Victoria Police (Web Page, 2 August 2024) < https://www.police.vic.gov.au/police-officer-training>.
10Victoria Police Act 2013 (Vic) s 52 (‘Victoria Police Act’).
11 Ibid s 52(2).
12 ‘Protective services officers’, Victoria Legal Aid (Web Page, 7 November 2023) <https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/protective-services-officers>.
13Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 459(1).
14Control of Weapons Act 1990 (Vic) s 10GA(1).
15Victoria Police Act (n 10) s 3A(d).
16 Ibid s 3A(c).
17Victoria Police Regulations 2024 (Vic) s 28.
18Victoria Police Act (n 10) s 3A(b).
19 IBAC, ‘IBAC review finds risks in OC spray use by Victoria Police’ (Media Release, 23 April 2024) < https://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/IBAC-review-finds-risks-in-OC-spray-use>.
How can I learn more?
Jeremy King.
Principal.
- Injury Law & Police Misconduct
- 03 9890 3321
- Email Address: j.king@robinsongill.com.au
Jeremy King is a Principal Lawyer and head of the Police and Prisons team at Robinson Gill. With an imposing track record of high-profile actions against the Victorian police, Jeremy is at the forefront of the fight for police oversight and accountability. Through both his landmark litigation and advocacy work, he has played a key role in shaping legislative reform across Australia.
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