Overview
- Opposition Leader Brad Battin pledges 200 additional PSOs to patrol high‑risk shopping centres without cutting station coverage.
- The $70 million package sets aside $7 million for metal‑detecting wands and would legislate powers to use them where knife risk is identified.
- Labor’s measures include a summer trial of PSOs in Melbourne shopping centres, funding for 842 handheld metal detectors, and tougher penalties for assaults on customer‑facing workers.
- The Coalition also proposes a new offence targeting abuse and assaults on retail staff, bans on violent customers, and a digital platform to seek workplace protection orders.
- FOI data citing 96 PSO coverage gaps at Heathmont station and industry reports of rising incidents intensify pressure, as the police union attacks the government’s approach.