Independent Victorian senator Lydia Thorpe has criticized a police decision to extend search powers in inner Melbourne for six months, calling the move “outrageous” and likely to lead to racial profiling.
Victoria Police on Tuesday announced the CBD along with Docklands, Southbank, sports and entertainment precincts, East Melbourne and parts of South Melbourne as “designated areas” from Sunday until May 29, 2026.
This means that police and protective services officers (PSOs) have the ability to randomly stop and search anyone without a warrant or reasonable grounds. Vehicles can also be searched.
The declaration was immediately criticized by human rights and legal groups, including Inner Melbourne Community Legal, which said it was unprecedented both in its geographical scope and the period for which it was intended to apply.
The Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allen, defended the six-month announcement on Wednesday, saying it was in line with the new chief commissioner, Mike Bush’s plan to raise the visibility of police and reduce serious and violent crime by 5% each year.
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But Thorpe told ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday it could result in First Nations people and other minority groups being targeted by police.
Thorpe said, “It’s outrageous. These are unprecedented police powers. And I think Jacinta Allen is throwing all of us under the bus.”
He pointed to research published by the Center Against Racial Profiling on Monday, alleging that racial profiling by police was “a huge problem in Victoria”. The research, based on data obtained from Victoria Police under freedom of information laws, found that people considered by police to be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander were 15 times more likely to be searched than white people in 2024, but were less likely to be found with prohibited items.
It also found that African community members were eight times more likely to be searched by police than white people, but were also less likely to be found carrying contraband.
“If you have black or brown skin, you will be more targeted by the police than any non-black or brown person, any white person,” Thorpe said.
“I have talked to many mothers and grandmothers who are afraid to let their children or their brothers or their uncles go out – just because of the color of their skin.
“It’s a desperate, desperate way to try to win racist votes.”
A police spokesperson reiterated on Wednesday that the force has “zero tolerance towards racial profiling”, adding that officers are “well trained to police in response to an individual’s behaviour, not their background”.
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Police also released an image of weapons seized during a three-day designated area operation conducted in the city earlier this year.
He said 47 weapons, including baseball bats, knuckle dusters, machetes and a Stanley knife, were found on “a range of different individuals” through “stick searches”, with people asked to remove items from their pockets and bags and searched.
“Weapon search operations in the CBD earlier this year led to the seizure of a large number of edged weapons – preventing further community harm,” the spokesperson said.
“To declare a designated area, there must either be an extensive history of weapons-related crime in the area, or police intelligence that indicates the measure will potentially deter crime.”
Allen said “strict monitoring measures” were in place to investigate allegations of racial profiling.
“This action by Victoria Police is focused on keeping everyone coming into the city safe and I believe everyone coming in and out of the city deserves that,” Allen said.
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