Top cop says police never requested Melbourne’s COVID-19 curfew

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton says police were not consulted about Melbourne’s COVID-19 curfew.

On Tuesday, in an interview with Neil Mitchell, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton revealed the curfew was not his idea.

Yesterday, Premier Daniel Andrews said the curfew was raised in discussions but he didn’t “know exactly which person” suggested it.

“There’s ongoing discussions, lots of different people talking, both us as a government, officers, senior officials, members of Victoria Police,” he said.

But Mr Patton says he “was never consulted” about the curfew.

“We didn’t ask for it,” he told Neil Mitchell.

Neil Mitchell: Were police consulted about the introduction of a curfew?

Shane Patton: No.

Neil Mitchell: At no stage?

Shane Patton: No. The reality is I was never consulted … our policy area was provided a copy of the proposed guidelines for our information a couple of hours before they were signed off.

Mr Patton said although police did not request the curfew, it has restricted travel at night, making it easier to police the city.

“We are able to enforce with the curfew and movement is very much restricted because of it … but we weren’t involved in discussions over it.”

The curfew has been in place for 57 days.

Press PLAY below for the full interview

Image: Daniel Pockett / Getty