My tour begins at Sydney Police Centre in Surry Hills. I’m escorted inside, past the security gates to the Police Operations Centre (POC), where Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Garner is waiting to meet me.
Garner is the current head of Operation Shelter, which was established by NSW Police shortly after October 7, 2023, and again ramped up following the Bondi terror attack.
“All major events are run out of this facility,” he explains. “This will come alive about 3 o’clock this afternoon with the team that are running Vivid.
“It’s got a bunch of different breakout rooms, a large briefing room, CCTV from all different sources for situational awareness, to inform decision making, coordination, and management of major events throughout the year.”
Importantly, he adds, “It can be stood up at very short timeframes for unplanned situations, like Bondi for instance – within a very short space time, this was stood up and fully operating to manage the response.”
comments