Politics · Australia · 2 hrs ago
NSW launches armed rifle patrols across Sydney
NSW police have launched a permanent armed patrol unit in Sydney with 200 specially trained officers carrying rifles.
The unit will patrol tourist areas, crowded public spaces, major events, sports matches and places of worship.
The patrols follow the Bondi terror attack, after which police said officers were outgunned by attackers with rifles.
Police say the unit is intended to deter threats and help officers respond quickly to armed attacks.
Some Jewish community members have welcomed the move, while experts and civil liberties groups have raised concerns about heavily armed officers in public.
One counter-terrorism expert warned that extra security at prominent sites could shift attacks to less protected targets.
Whether the patrols make people feel safer remains unclear, and the unit is set to operate across Sydney on an ongoing basis.
New South Wales police have launched a permanent armed patrol unit across Sydney, with officers carrying military-style rifles.
The Armed Response Command will patrol tourist areas, crowded public spaces, major events, sporting matches and places of worship.
Police say the unit aims to deter threats and improve their response to armed attacks.
The unit was promised after the Bondi terror attack and has been welcomed by sections of the Jewish community.
Experts and civil liberties groups have raised concerns about possible mission creep and the militarisation of police.
- Who
- The New South Wales police launched the Armed Response Command, a unit of 200 specialist-trained officers.
- What
- The officers will patrol Sydney carrying military-style rifles.
- When
- The unit began patrols on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
- Where
- Tourist areas, crowded public spaces, major events, sporting matches and places of worship across Sydney.
- Why
- Police say the unit is intended to deter threats and improve readiness to respond to armed attacks. It was promised after the Bondi terror attack.
NSW police and supporters
Experts and civil liberties groups
Purpose
NSW police and supporters
Police say the unit will deter threats and help officers respond to armed attacks.
Experts and civil liberties groups
Experts question whether visible weapons will make the community safer and warn of potential mission creep.
Public safety
NSW police and supporters
Sections of the Jewish community welcomed the dedicated armed patrols.
Experts and civil liberties groups
Some groups and experts warn against the militarisation of police and say security measures may push attacks towards softer targets.
A terror attack took place at Bondi; police were armed with pistols while the alleged shooters had rifles.
NSW deputy commissioner David Hudson told the royal commission into antisemitism that police were outgunned at the Bondi massacre.
NSW police launched the permanent Armed Response Command patrol unit in Sydney.
- Unit name
- Armed Response Command
- Specialist officers
- 200
- Launch
- Sunday, November 1, 2026
- Patrol area
- Sydney
- Arms
- Military-style rifles
4 sources
What people are saying
Operational readiness is about ensuring that if the community needs us on its worst day, we can perform at our best.
You cannot police your way out of the challenge of terrorism, you have to be able to address it also at the root cause
We have to be careful of distinguishing between a political response, which wants to look tough on terrorism, to a response that actually does help address the problem because it is a real problem.