Victoria Police is vowing to conduct further stop and search operations in Geelong after more than 40 people were checked for weapons in the city.
Police declared a designated area over the CBD on Saturday that allowed them to search anyone for weapons, though none were found.
The operation included Geelong’s Divisional Response Unit, uniform police and the Public Order Response Team saturating shopping areas, bus stops, patrolling eight licensed venues and checking 13 vehicles.
A mobile policing unit van fitted with equipment and technology similar to that of a police station was also present.
Geelong Local Area Commander Acting Inspector Nicholas Uebergang said the OMNI operation is designed to act as a deterrent to anyone considering carrying weapons and is the first in a series being staged in the area.
“Operations like these send a clear message that carrying a knife won’t be tolerated,” he said.
“The community should be reassured we are doing all we can to detect offenders and seize their weapons before further harm occurs.
“In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to run operations like these but make no apologies for targeting those carrying weapons and looking for trouble.”
Image: Police say they’ll conduct more operations looking for weapons in Geelong (Eyewatch – Geelong/Facebook).
