The deputy commissioner of New South Wales Police has pushed back at calls for the private security sector to be armed at Jewish events.
The royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion has been examining security arrangements for the Jewish community in this block of hearings, with some witnesses lobbying for the Community Security Group (CSG) to be armed in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
CSG, led by security professionals and supported by trained volunteers, monitors threats to the community and provides security for Jewish events. Its security guards can carry weapons at schools and synagogues and attended the Hanukah celebration in December, but were unarmed.
In the days after the Bondi beach terror attack, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said his government was “actively” considering expanding access to guns for CSG.
Appearing before the royal commission on Monday, David Hudson said the “protection of all members of the community is the responsibility of the police”, not other individuals or groups.
He said it was his “strong preference” that a “user pays” model be adopted rather than arming private security guards, which would allow organisers or venues to pay for police presence as occurred at Westfield in the aftermath of a 2024 knife attack.
Hudson said the police force was generally opposed to individual communities, including the Jewish community, being able to carry arms or use body armour.
“It’s our opinion that allowing certain areas of society, no matter what those areas are, to have special privileges in relation to their security, would further fracture … relationships that are fairly tenuous between different groups,” Hudson said.
“It would certainly be looked upon by others as the police or governments … showing favouritism to that group.”
Risk consultant Gavriel Schneider told the commissioner on Monday that the private security sector should be armed at open air events as a “valuable alternative or support” to existing police resources, a view that was backed by the Australian Jewish Association.
Its president, Robert Gregory, said the Jewish community wouldn’t feel safe to attend open air events “unless there is armed protection” and called for a government review of the protective capabilities of licensed security guards.
“If the police can be there, that’s great, but they can’t be all the time,” he said.
“When we have a communal organisation that is willing to protect the community (CSG), that is trained … I think it just makes sense that you allow them to have the capabilities to protect that community,” he said.
The interim report of the royal commission found no gap in current laws that could have prevented the shooting. But it did call for greater coordination of policing at Jewish festivals and events.
About 2,000 people were expected to attend the Chanukah by the Sea event in December, the royal commission heard, with four officers tasked to attend, though it was unclear whether they were instructed to stay for the whole event.
A counter-terrorism expert, Scott Wilson, told the royal commission that the response and speed of police officers was “tremendous”, but limited by the fact “they weren’t the right officers to be there”.
One of the alleged shooters was shot within five minutes of the attack, and the second alleged shooter was apprehended within eight.
In the UK, general duties officers don’t carry firearms, but specialist officers do – which requires 12 weeks of dedicated, intensive training, compared with nine days for an average Australian officer.
“You should have specialist officers there as quickly as you can to be able to deal with a terrorist attack with long arms,” Wilson said.
Hudson said NSW Police had implemented a range of measures in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, including a new armed response command announced in February and a 24/7 operations centre providing a liaison to the CSG for major Jewish events.
“If our risk assessment or threat assessment indicates that we require an armed response, we will have an armed response,” he said. “We are very mindful and attuned to the sensitivities of of the Jewish people and we will always discuss their security needs.”
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