Armed hate crime unit becomes permanent after Bondi
The heavily armed emergency response unit, set up to counter hate-related violence following the bondi beach terror attack, has now become a permanent fixture of the force.
Nearly 250 NSW Police officers will transform Operation Sanctuary, established to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, into a permanent, dedicated hate crime unit in 2023.
The first unit in Australia means police will be deployed with long-range firearms to patrol high-profile public buildings, places of worship and protests around Sydney, with a specialized 24/7 police operations center to support them.
The center will support the unit with real-time coordination and surge management, including training, logistics and intelligence to sharpen targeting and interception.
They will also be equipped with a fleet of specially modified rapid response vehicles.
The decision comes two months after 15 people were killed by two gunmen on December 14 in the worst terror attack in Australia’s modern history.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said it was necessary to establish a permanent structure for Operation Shelter rather than rotating officers from various commands to ensure police were always on standby.
“People want to see police in important places, at large events, near places of worship and in crowded public spaces,” he said Wednesday.
“This keeps the presence consistent because our security challenges have changed and our policing model needs to change with them.”
The prime minister specifically targeted the weekly pro-Palestinian protests, saying they were straining police resources and disrupting social harmony.
He stepped up his statements after the Bondi massacre, saying “words lead to action”.
Mr Minns agreed to a series of extraordinary protest restrictions that were lifted in early February following a controversial visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in the wake of violent clashes that led to an independent investigation into police conduct.
A high-level police delegation traveled to Germany and the UK in January to review best practices, finding that the state’s “ad hoc offensive operations” needed to be formalised.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the lead unit with long-arm capability was essential in the transition from reactive to proactive policing.
“Our priority is not only to ensure that the community is safe, but also to ensure that people feel safe, but also to provide a deterrent to anyone who wishes to cause harm and to support our operational police on the front line,” he said.
The latest figures from Operation Shelter recorded 815 incidents deemed to be anti-Semitic or Islamophobic in nature, as well as other incidents that did not fall into either category, and more than 230 people were arrested.
But doubts have been cast over the accuracy and accuracy of the figures after it was revealed that around 370 anti-Semitic incidents had been misclassified dozens of times.
Recently retired deputy police commissioner Peter Thurtell told a parliamentary inquiry in April 2025 that the figures recorded were a “loose capture” of all incidents referred to law enforcement and were “not an exact science”.
