MELBOURNE, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of police officers have been deployed across the southeast Australian state of Victoria to ensure public safety during New Year celebrations.
Victoria Police said that thousands of general duty officers and specialist assets from the mounted branch, dog squad, water police, air wing and critical incident response team (CIRT) will work overnight on Wednesday to ensure that New Year celebrations are safe.
Superintendent Belinda Jones, Victoria Police's statewide New Year's Eve commander, said in a statement that the strong police presence would provide "reassurance" to the public following the fatal mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach earlier in December.
"A significant level of planning has been underway to ensure we are well resourced to maintain community safety for the many events right across the state," she said.
According to the state government, celebrations including fireworks displays are expected to bring around 500,000 people into the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, the second-largest city in Australia, on Wednesday night.
Melbourne's CBD has been declared a designated area until the end of May, giving police and protective service officers the power to stop and search people for weapons without a warrant.
Additionally, Victoria Police said the CBD of the city of Geelong, west of Melbourne, and the foreshore in St Kilda in Melbourne's south, have been declared designated areas for New Year's Eve.
The state government said that 7 km of the fencing has been put in place to manage crowds in key areas of Melbourne's CBD.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Victorian Acting Police Minister Enver Erdogan said that CIRT officers would be heavily armed and prepared to respond to any incidents. ■