Operation Harmony nets 55 arrests as police maintain boosted CBD presence

Victoria Police says its expanded Operation Harmony has already led to 55 arrests in Melbourne’s CBD, with the month-long policing surge being credited with helping prevent further crime and improving safety in the city.

Since March 22, the number of officers patrolling the CBD each day has almost doubled under the operation, with police focusing on anti-social behaviour, retail crime, unsafe e-scooter and e-bike use, thefts from cars and engagement with people experiencing homelessness. The operation is continuing for the foreseeable future.

According to police, the latest results include 55 arrests for robberies, assaults, thefts and anti-social behaviour, nearly 370 fines, mostly relating to unsafe e-scooter and e-bike use, almost 13,800 engagements with traders, visitors and residents, and more than 130 pieces of information gathered to assist ongoing investigations.

The arrests have included a woman allegedly threatening a convenience store employee with a knife on Spencer St on April 15 before stealing confectionary and fleeing, only to be arrested a short time later at Spencer and Collins streets. Police also pointed to the April 13 armed robbery of two teenagers outside a shopping centre at La Trobe and Elizabeth streets, where Operation Harmony officers quickly arrested two youths at Town Hall Station.

North West Metro Region Acting Commander Belinda Jones said the increased police presence was making a difference on the ground.

“The bolstered police presence is helping to improve safety across the city,” she said.

The citywide push comes as the City of Melbourne is itself proposing to expand its Community Safety Officer program as part of its draft budget, doubling CSO numbers from 11 to 22. That move would sit alongside more CCTV cameras and a larger outreach presence on city streets, reflecting a more layered approach to safety and amenity in the central city.

That broader model was recently backed by Melbourne East Inspector Dale Huntington on the Future Melbourne podcast, where he said he firmly believed the CSOs had found their lane. While not police, they were proving useful in managing local laws and lower-level issues such as obstructions and amenity matters, while also feeding intelligence back to police when issues escalated or patterns emerged.

In that sense, Operation Harmony and the council’s CSO expansion are not competing responses so much as parallel ones. Police are saturating the city with sworn officers and specialist units, including the Public Order Response Team, Transit Safety Division, Highway Patrol, Proactive Policing Unit and Mounted Branch, while the council is trying to strengthen its own on-street presence around bylaws, early intervention and referrals.

For traders, residents and visitors, the message is that the CBD is now being watched more closely than it has been for some time.

And with both Victoria Police and the City of Melbourne doubling down on visibility, the central city is increasingly being shaped by a combined safety response aimed not only at crime, but at confidence.