COVID-19: who’s going full doomsday prep on this?

Kerplunk

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Yeah. Seems a bit hardcore at face value but I guess it’s more about preventing the pizza and KFC parties, and making enforcement easier. Also allows diversion of resources to daytime enforcement/monitoring - PSOs usually on trains etc can be redeployed to daytime community beats etc.
And if you look at the curfew rules, apart from exercise, you are allowed to move for work, chemist etc.. Depends on what work is left mind you..
 

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Yeah. Seems a bit hardcore at face value but I guess it’s more about preventing the pizza and KFC parties, and making enforcement easier. Also allows diversion of resources to daytime enforcement/monitoring - PSOs usually on trains etc can be redeployed to daytime community beats etc.
And this is where it starts to get murky. PSO positions were created to patrol train stations. They get 12 weeks of training which is less than half of that for a police officer. Just how much jurisdiction and power should they have, and how much additional oversight is being placed around them to ensure that they are capable of doing the job correctly?
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
And this is where it starts to get murky. PSO positions were created to patrol train stations. They get 12 weeks of training which is less than half of that for a police officer. Just how much jurisdiction and power should they have, and how much additional oversight is being placed around them to ensure that they are capable of doing the job correctly?
Would you rather soldiers?
 

leitch

Feelin' a bit rrranty
And this is where it starts to get murky. PSO positions were created to patrol train stations. They get 12 weeks of training which is less than half of that for a police officer. Just how much jurisdiction and power should they have, and how much additional oversight is being placed around them to ensure that they are capable of doing the job correctly?
To exercise their powers they have to be operating at a “designated place” - they also provide security at some court locations for example. Presumably new deployments would involve temporary designation of places like shopping centres Like Highpoint, Bourke St mall etc - other usually high traffic areas where you might want increased presence to monitor foot traffic/deter people from hanging out as opposed to just buying their groceries and fucking off. E.g. avoiding the massive crowds like at Costco this morning. PSOs are qualified for that, have the power to issue fines, and are more accountable than random security contractors as we’ve recently discovered.
 

glenn1529

Likes Dirt
And this is where it starts to get murky. PSO positions were created to patrol train stations. They get 12 weeks of training which is less than half of that for a police officer. Just how much jurisdiction and power should they have, and how much additional oversight is being placed around them to ensure that they are capable of doing the job correctly?
At least one week was dedicated to which passengers can I screw though, surely?
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
And this is where it starts to get murky. PSO positions were created to patrol train stations. They get 12 weeks of training which is less than half of that for a police officer. Just how much jurisdiction and power should they have, and how much additional oversight is being placed around them to ensure that they are capable of doing the job correctly?
The covid rules have come in recently, police and PSO's have both had the same amount of time to get around the rules. There's no difference between the 2 with enforcement. It's pretty straight forward to enforce.
 

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
To exercise their powers they have to be operating at a “designated place” - they also provide security at some court locations for example. Presumably new deployments would involve temporary designation of places like shopping centres Like Highpoint, Bourke St mall etc - other usually high traffic areas where you might want increased presence to monitor foot traffic/deter people from hanging out as opposed to just buying their groceries and fucking off. E.g. avoiding the massive crowds like at Costco this morning. PSOs are qualified for that, have the power to issue fines, and are more accountable than random security contractors as we’ve recently discovered.
That's my concern. The 'mission creep' has already started by extending their designated place. Now we are extending it further.
Can a PSO enter your house to check if you have too many visitors? Did you need to inform them of where you are traveling to and why?
 

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The covid rules have come in recently, police and PSO's have both had the same amount of time to get around the rules. There's no difference between the 2 with enforcement. It's pretty straight forward to enforce.
But there is a large difference in training (this is IMO based on observation of PSOs on the job, and some work my company did with VicPol).
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
But there is a large difference in training (this is IMO based on observation of PSOs on the job, and some work my company did with VicPol).
Overall, yes. But for covid compliance, no.

And I'd take some PSO's over some police anytime from what I've seen. But like anything, any line of work, there's good and bad in all.
 

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Overall, yes. But for covid compliance, no.
And as I said above, just what is 'compliance' and how far does it go? And what incident has to occur before someone says "yeah, that's probably outside your jurisdiction"?
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
And as I said above, just what is 'compliance' and how far does it go? And what incident has to occur before someone says "yeah, that's probably outside your jurisdiction"?
The covid stuff will be rolled back with the state of emergency, so will the powers of the PSO's in that example, so wouldn't worry to much in that example.

But no doubt something will change again down the track. Really, they should have just more police in place to begin with.
 

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The covid stuff will be rolled back with the state of emergency, so will the powers of the PSO's in that example, so wouldn't worry to much in that example.

But no doubt something will change again down the track. Really, they should have just more police in place to begin with.
Agree with this. Extra police in the community is a good thing. I'd just prefer ones with better training than what the PSOs tend to get (and make no mistake there's some damn good PSOs, including at least 2 former soldiers I know, I'm talking collectively with regard to the above)
 

leitch

Feelin' a bit rrranty
PSOs are good for VicPol because they cost less but can fulfil most of the enforcement/deterrent functions of police in lower-risk community settings without necessitating the redeployment of sworn officers from emergency/000 response etc.

Given their statutory functions I wouldn’t expect to see them patrolling the community (door knocking COVID cases etc), so no they can’t come into your house. If you were at a train station or a shopping centre yes they could ask for your reason/destination of travel, which is what we’re want in terms of enforcement of COVID regulations. Acknowledging it’s an assumption, I would assume that’s why ADF has been doing the door knocking to date.

In principle I don’t have a problem with PSOs forming part of the policing strategy around public gathering areas and having appropriate powers to those settings, but I’d rather they didn’t carry guns.
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Today-Tonight right now ? Is that a computer polluting source... f$%king no wonder it spread.
 

tobbogonist

a registered member
A friend once asked two PSO fellas if he could use the station toilet, we were on the last train back from Belgrave after a gig (a few beers where had) it was still forty minutes or so back to melb on the connecting train. They refused him quiet aggresively, toilet was closed and it was understandable but the aggression.. He left the train station and went over the road and had a sneaky piss in a park. They refused to allow him back into the station and lots of yelling and voilent threats ensued. None of us where drunk and or disorderly and he had a valid ticket. We chose to leave the station with our mate and spent our collective earning of the night on an our cab ride back to melb. This was very early on in the PSO timeline.
Not long after that I watched a group beat down on some school kids at prahran station about 5.30 in the afternoon. Never been too keen on them since then.
That being said, about 5 years ago a mate popped out the front of the house to take a phone call whilst we where at his house for his birthday, sitting on the fence having a smoke, no alcohol on him. Police pulled over, picked him up for being drunk on the street and drove him round in the back of the wagon for four hours to 'sober up' then dropped him back outside the house. Worst part was they confiscated his phone and turned it off, we spent four hours freaking out trying to work out where he had gone.
I was mugged once just outside a train station, PSO 's stood on the platform and watched.. lost a backpack and 80 bucks.
None of this is particularly relevant to covid but it was fun to relive typing it all out.
 
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