Victoria Police on protecting the Jewish community

The AJN met with Victoria Police to discuss their commitment to protecting security in Melbourne’s Jewish neighbourhoods.

Victoria Police established ‘Operation Park’ in October 2023, to monitor and co-ordinate the investigation of offences associated with the Israel-Gaza conflict, which police said, “predominately targeted at Jewish people”. Operation Park has included more than 13,000 visits to places of cultural significance to help keep the Jewish community safe and it has made at least 266 arrests.

Local Area Commander for Port Phillip Inspector Brett Coloe told The AJN, “Operation Park is about getting our members out there, front and centre visible, having the community see us, and providing reassurance to the community, and also having a ready response capability should there be any need for us to engage.”

Operation Park involves local police from St Kilda, Port Phillip and Glen Eira as well as specialist police including the Public Order Response Teams and the Critical Incident Response Teams.

When The AJN noted Jewish community concern that many of those arrested have not faced prison sentences,  Inspector Coloe said the police are focused on arresting those who commit offences, and that the courts ultimately decide on sentencing.

“We can’t tell the courts what to do. That’s their domain, so we have to stay in our lane. So, our job is to hold offenders to account, arrest people, reassure victims, and make sure the offender is brought to court. How a magistrate then deals with that offender? We really don’t get to have a say in it,” Inspector Coloe said.

Victoria Police provided The AJN with information on the more ‘lengthy’ sentences following Operation Park arrests, which included: “A 37-year-old Sunset Strip man who was sentenced to 77 days imprisonment – which was equivalent to time already served – as well as an 18-month community corrections order after spray painting Nazi symbols on five Cowes businesses on 13 November 2023;  A 39-year-old Keilor man who mounted a footpath and intentionally drove towards a group of Jewish people after a pro-Israel rally in Caulfield on 10 November 2023 was convicted and handed a 24-month community corrections order to complete 300 hours of unpaid work. His licence was also disqualified for a year; and two males were convicted following the racially motivated assault of a man and theft of his mobile phone in Fawkner on 9 November 2023. The pair was handed a 26-month community corrections order to perform 200 hours of unpaid community work and undergo 100 hours of treatment each.”

Regarding those charged over the Adass Israel Synagogue arson, Victoria Police could not comment as the matter is currently before the court, however, it was reported that several individuals arrested for that attack have been bailed.

Two teenagers were recently arrested for physically threatening Jewish children with a vehicle in Ripponlea and making antisemitic comments.

Other high-profile cases included the arson attack on Macnamara MP’s Josh Burns’ office where a 17-year-old offender received a court-ordered diversion program to avoid a criminal conviction, as well as the arson on the East Melbourne Synagogue where the offender was sentenced to time served after spending 134 days in prison.

However, today the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) welcomed the sentencing of a Blacktown man for making threats to kill AJA CEO Robert Gregory and then-AJA President Dr David Adler.  The man was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment to be served by way of an Intensive Correction Order in the community.

On whether there had been any changes in approach following the Bondi Chanukah massacre, Inspector Coloe said he understood the fear that existed within the Jewish community, “We need to reassure them, and we need for them to go about their ordinary business in the safest way possible.”

Asked about safety concerns by Jewish parents and students about returning to school, Inspector Coloe replied, “I really want our community here to rest assured, our intelligence doesn’t reveal any significant risks occurring at the moment… I want them to feel confident and comfortable going back to school… We want that normality to be a priority. Hence we will have a presence… Please don’t be alarmed by that, it’s about reassurance.”

Inspector Coloe said that Victoria Police appreciated the work of the Community Security Group (CSG) with whom they are in regular contact with.

“We rely on CSG significantly as one of the many peak bodies within the Jewish community, to provide us with intelligence and to provide us with early notifications around threats or risks, so that we can mitigate those threats and risks, and we often do do it with them,” he said.

However, Inspector Coloe urged the Jewish community, that when making reports to CSG about antisemitism, to also make a report to Victoria Police.

Discussing the upcoming visit of Israeli President Herzog to Australia and whether that was cause for concern, Inspector Coloe said that Victoria Police would be working with the Australian Federal Police to ensure security.

In Sydney, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said while there was “no particular known threat” regarding Herzog’s visit, he feared a “large-scale public assembly with so much animosity” could place community safety at risk.

Lanyon said 3000 NSW police would be on duty during Herzog’s visit, and NSW laws stopping protests in specified areas would continue for another fortnight due to “a significant risk to community safety”.