Victoria Police have a range of divisions and units that provide specialist support in the community.
Transit Safety Division
The Transit Safety Division consists of police officers, protective services officers (PSOs) and Victorian Public Service employees.
They are committed to keeping the Victorian Public Transport System safe for the travelling public. Victoria Police works closely with the Department of Transport and Planning and public transport operators to help make your journey a safer one.
PSOs provide a visible nightly presence across railway stations and patrol trains, trams, and major bus interchanges.
Uniformed police officers, detectives and tasking units also work to prevent, detect and solve crime.
For further information, tips and advice on staying safe visit Public transport safety.
Police Air Wing
The Victoria Police Air Wing (PAW) is part of the Specialist Response Division and provides regular aerial patrols of the metropolitan Melbourne and observation with tactical assistance for ground units on operational tasks.
They also provide assistance during:
- search and rescue incidents
- traffic surveillance
- detection of traffic offenders on state highways
- fire duties in support of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV)
- covert surveillance and
- urgent transportation of members and equipment.
Dog Squad
The Victoria Police Dog Squad is part of the Specialist Response Division and play an important role in operational policing in Victoria.
Dogs and handlers carry out specific tasks such as:
- tracking offenders
- detecting explosives
- detecting narcotics.
Dogs can often crawl or jump onto places where it would be impractical or impossible for police members to go.
A member of the Dog Squad is assigned a police dog who lives at home with them and is their permanent partner to combat crime. Dog Squad Officers also train, care for and work with their police dog to assist in police operations.
Bomb Response Unit
The Bomb Response Unit (BRU) is capable of dealing with all bomb and explosive related tasks within the State of Victoria, and consists of a specialised team of trained bomb technicians sourced from within Victoria Police ranks.
The Unit was formed in 2003 and is part of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Security Services Division.
Critical Incident Response Unit
The Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) are part of the Security Services Division and provide a 24 hour, 7 days a week response to incidents that are beyond the scope, experience and skill level of general duties police but do not meet the criteria of the Special Operations Group (SOG).
Their primary role is to offer specialist support to Regions by providing specialist tactics, equipment and trained negotiators which may assist in the peaceful resolution of critical incidents such as sieges, suicide intervention, and Counter Terrorism (CT) response.
CIRT also provide Victoria's Close Personal Protection capability and provide a response to chemical, biological and/or radiological (CBR) incidents (including suspicious powder incidents).
Mounted Branch
The Victoria Police Mounted Branch (MTB) are part of the Specialist Response Division and provide a state-wide response in support of operational police across Victoria at events requiring crowd control, such as protests or marches needing public order management, land searches and ceremonial duties.
The Mounted Branch provides a visible police presence in high crime rate areas and ceremonial escorts for the Governor-General, the Victorian Governor, visiting royalty, police funerals and parades.
Search and Rescue Squad
Search and Rescue Squad (SAR) are part of the Specialist Response Division and provides specialist expertise, advice and practical assistance in search and rescue situations, both on land and in underwater environments.
Search and Rescue Police are trained to locate people missing in remote and difficult areas, including the bush, snow, mountains, coastal and inland waterways, and vertical cliffs. They also dive under water to search for and recover stolen property, weapons, evidence, vehicles and other objects.
Protective Services Unit
The Protective Services Unit (PSU) is part of the Security Services Division and are specialist providers of security services. The PSU was established following a 1986 security review and formally commenced operations on 1 May, 1988. A member of the Protective Services Unit is known as a Protective Services Officer (PSO).
They have specific powers under several statutes that primarily cover areas where they are deployed, in addition to the legislated 'citizen arrest' authority.
Operational Response Unit
The Operations Response Unit (ORU) is part of the Operations Support Division and is a highly visible and trained response team tasked to tackle high-priority public safety, road policing and crime issues across the state. The ORU has the capacity to provide rapid and ready response to major incidents and disasters at short notice.
The ORU members are trained as necessary to tackle issues such as CBD violence, rural traffic issues, weapons searches and crime or drug operations. The ORU also includes the Public Order Response Team (PORT) is designed to provide a rapid response to public order incidents. The primary objective of PORT is to restore and maintain public order in volatile and/or hostile crowd environments and certain emergency management situations. Members are trained in specific tactics to deal with public order and riot situations that occur across Victoria.
Special Operations Group
The Special Operations Group (SOG) is part of the Security Services Division and provides the Victorian community with an armed offender and counter terrorist response capacity. The SOG responds to unplanned operational critical incidents such as sieges and siege hostage situations, armed offender tasks and bomb response incidents. The squad also assists other police units in planned operations involving apprehension of dangerous suspects.
The SOG is highly trained in anti-terrorism tactics, building entry skills and conducting high risk searches.
Water Police Squad
The Water Police (WPS) is part of the Specialist Response Division and work around the clock to provide security to the four ports of Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings and responding to search and rescue operations state-wide. Included in their patrols are the inland waterways within Victoria such as Lake Eildon, Yarrawonga and Lake Eppalock to name a few. The Water Police coordinate all on-water searches and the rescue of vessels and people in distress.
Water Police investigate incidents and collisions that occur in the water and prepare inquest briefs. Work as a Water Police member heats up in the summer months as they police the ports 24-hours a day, ensuring that boat drivers obey speed limits and have appropriate licenses and safety equipment.
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