without remorse
8 December 2002, 03:06
Yahoo! News - Top Stories
Sunday December 8, 05:19 PM
Police launch anti-terror response group
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has unveiled its new anti-terrorist team, which will be able to respond virtually instantly to any terror incident.
Commander of the new Special Response and Security (SRS) team, Detective Superintendent Mark Johnsen (Johnsen), said members had been training since September with the aim to officially becoming operational on February 1.Supt Johnsen said the the full-time armed unit would comprise four teams of eight officers each.
He said the AFP had always maintained police able to conduct armed entry and response operations.
"It is going full-time now as before it was a part-time function. That is the whole idea of this new concept," he said.
"Basically it is to provide the AFP and ACT policing with a capability to respond to any incident that may present itself.
"It is a new environment we operate in today and it is a sensible thing for any organisation to re-assess its capabilities and look at what needs to be done.
"Depending on what occurs and what the need is, we will consider where it goes from here."
Members of the team went public with newspaper pictures of them conducting fitness training alongside the Canberra Raiders rugby league team.
Not shown were the tools of their trade, which include the police standard issue Glock handguns plus Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine guns and sniper rifles.
Supt Johnsen said the new team would not supplant the AFP's close protection units, which protect politicians and dignitaries, or the Australian Protective Service whose members provide security services at Parliament House, embassies and other facilities.
Nor would it replace the specialist anti-terrorist units of the Special Air Service (SAS) on Australia's west coast and the Army Commando Battalion on the east coast.
"Our task could vary and could include a range of activities that may be required of us. We are designed to be very flexible in the work that we do," Supt Johnsen said.
"Generally speaking our members will be conducting normal police duties but we will have the capability and the capacity if required to go to whatever level we need to go to."
The national counter-terrorist final response capability has resided with the SAS for the last two decades but has never been needed.
A recent discussion paper by the Australian Strategic Police Institute suggested that police might eventually take over this defence role.
"In the longer term the primary counter-terrorism response capability might best be moved from the ADF to federal and state police forces which will almost always be able to get to a terrorist scene more quickly than the ADF and are on a surer legal footing to undertake such operations," ASPI said.
This is for all those with questions about the AFP SOT.
Sunday December 8, 05:19 PM
Police launch anti-terror response group
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has unveiled its new anti-terrorist team, which will be able to respond virtually instantly to any terror incident.
Commander of the new Special Response and Security (SRS) team, Detective Superintendent Mark Johnsen (Johnsen), said members had been training since September with the aim to officially becoming operational on February 1.Supt Johnsen said the the full-time armed unit would comprise four teams of eight officers each.
He said the AFP had always maintained police able to conduct armed entry and response operations.
"It is going full-time now as before it was a part-time function. That is the whole idea of this new concept," he said.
"Basically it is to provide the AFP and ACT policing with a capability to respond to any incident that may present itself.
"It is a new environment we operate in today and it is a sensible thing for any organisation to re-assess its capabilities and look at what needs to be done.
"Depending on what occurs and what the need is, we will consider where it goes from here."
Members of the team went public with newspaper pictures of them conducting fitness training alongside the Canberra Raiders rugby league team.
Not shown were the tools of their trade, which include the police standard issue Glock handguns plus Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine guns and sniper rifles.
Supt Johnsen said the new team would not supplant the AFP's close protection units, which protect politicians and dignitaries, or the Australian Protective Service whose members provide security services at Parliament House, embassies and other facilities.
Nor would it replace the specialist anti-terrorist units of the Special Air Service (SAS) on Australia's west coast and the Army Commando Battalion on the east coast.
"Our task could vary and could include a range of activities that may be required of us. We are designed to be very flexible in the work that we do," Supt Johnsen said.
"Generally speaking our members will be conducting normal police duties but we will have the capability and the capacity if required to go to whatever level we need to go to."
The national counter-terrorist final response capability has resided with the SAS for the last two decades but has never been needed.
A recent discussion paper by the Australian Strategic Police Institute suggested that police might eventually take over this defence role.
"In the longer term the primary counter-terrorism response capability might best be moved from the ADF to federal and state police forces which will almost always be able to get to a terrorist scene more quickly than the ADF and are on a surer legal footing to undertake such operations," ASPI said.
This is for all those with questions about the AFP SOT.