A “limited” number of police officers made it difficult for the force to manage an anti-trans rally gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, an intelligence dossier has revealed.
Police say “limited” resources made it “difficult” to manage the now-notorious Let Women Speak rally in March where dozens of neo-Nazis gatecrashed and performed Hitler salutes on the steps of parliament.
The force was ill-equipped to adequately manage the 550-strong crowd who descended on Melbourne’s CBD, despite estimating 800 people would attend, due to unplanned leave resulting in a shortage of staff.
An intelligence dossier obtained by the Herald Sun reveals Victoria Police believes they were short 19 officers for the protest, where multiple groups with competing ideologies clashed.
“Police resources were limited which made it difficult to manage four separate groups from coming together in a busy area such as Parliament House,” a post-event report said.
“Resources lost due to UPL (unplanned leave), was two sergeants and 17 ORs (other ranks).
“This was detrimental to being able to cover the footprint of the event.”
The dossier reveals the force was aware former Liberal MP Moira Deeming was planning to speak at the rally.
They were also bracing for neo-Nazis to attend and “agitate” others.
“Members must be aware several different groups will be in attendance and may not all get along,” the intelligence dossier states.
Read the article by Brianna Travers in the Herald Sun.