Reports today that former and retired police veterans are being recruited as Authorised Officers is the latest COVID-19 failure of the Andrews Labor Government.
Daniel Andrews’ desperate plea to recall police veterans to the frontline, who in many cases may not have been active members of Victoria Police for a number of years, is entirely inappropriate and a recipe for disaster.
Instead of learning from the mistakes of experimenting with using private security guards within the botched hotel quarantine program, Daniel Andrews has doubled down on shortcut solutions and now seeks to empower Victoria Police veterans to lock people up in their homes.
This new experiment to recruit retired police back to the frontline as Authorised Officers would see them having powers to enter people’s homes or workplaces with the ability to interview, detain and fine them.
This recruitment drive of police veterans follows the shutdown last year of a Police in Schools program run by retired police officers, after being told by former Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, that they are too out of touch to be involved in such a program.
If Daniel Andrews won’t even allow Victoria’s retired police officers to run a Police in Schools program, why on earth should they be cleaning up his mess in the community and quarantine hotels?
Victorians have lost confidence in the Andrews Labor Government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis which has led to this desperate plea by a desperate Premier.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Police and Community Safety, David Southwick:
“This desperate call for help from Daniel Andrews demonstrates how poorly he has managed policing resources during COVID-19.
“Police veterans have a real contribution to make to the ongoing safety of the community but their use to issue infringements, detain people and conduct checks on private property is entirely inappropriate.
“It’s quite bizarre that retired police officers would be considered out of touch to be involved in a Police in Schools program but be ready for action to serve detaining Victorians on the frontline.
“With Victoria’s COVID-19 cases falling, why is Daniel Andrews so desperate that he now needs to call on retired police to keep Victorians locked up?”
