Police beef up presence in Melbourne’s CBD following violent incident

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A high-profile police incident that left one man dead and five others injured has put Melbourne residents on high alert and raised questions over the city's safety.

Transcript

00:00 By horse, boat or bike, these patrols will be a common sight for city goers after Friday

00:07 night's collisions raised questions about safety in the heart of Melbourne.

00:11 It doesn't seem like anybody is addressing this issue.

00:14 These kinds of things can happen anywhere in any city, in any part of the city.

00:18 And increasing the police presence I think will also create that sense of safety.

00:22 A 76-year-old driver was killed, five other people injured and 26-year-old Zain Khan charged

00:28 with murder, the incident leading police to beef up planned operations as the city emerges

00:33 from winter.

00:34 It's apparent that further community reassurance is required.

00:40 They say overall crime is down on pre-pandemic levels, while statistics show assaults in

00:45 the CBD have climbed as the return of foot traffic has reinvigorated the night-time economy.

00:51 And with that comes naturally increased tension amongst people, licensed premises open and

00:58 increased assaults.

00:59 Our real concern now is that the general public make an assumption that anybody that's homeless

01:05 or anyone that has a mental health issue is a risk and that's categorically not the case.

01:10 Police say the 26-year-old driver charged over Friday night's incident has no obvious

01:15 terror connections.

01:16 They acknowledge Bourke Street has seen a string of similar incidents, including a 2017

01:21 rampage that killed six people and an erratic driving incident in 2021.

01:26 It's understandable to think that it's now more than a coincidence that this has occurred.

01:31 Bollards were installed along Bourke Street in the wake of the 2017 incidents.

01:36 Police are now reviewing whether more safety upgrades could be required.

01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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