MELBOURNE, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of police officers patrolling central Melbourne, Australia, will almost double under a public safety operation announced on Thursday.
The police force in the state of Victoria said in a statement that an increased number of officers will conduct patrols in train stations, retail areas, key locations and on footpaths and roads in Melbourne's central business district (CBD) under Operation Harmony.
It said that the operation would run for the foreseeable future and focus on anti-social behavior, retail crime, safe use of e-mobility devices, thefts from parked cars and supporting people experiencing homelessness.
"This is another example of officers being deployed based on the latest intelligence and, most importantly, to resolve issues that are concerning our community," Belinda Jones, Victoria Police's North West Metro Region Acting Commander, said.
The operation will involve local police officers as well as specialized units from the mounted branch, transit safety division and the heavily armed public order response team.
A previous iteration of Operation Harmony that was conducted in December resulted in police making 66 arrests and issuing over 470 fines.
Official data released earlier in March by Victoria's Crime Statistics Agency revealed that the state's crime rate increased by 2.4 percent to a nine-year high of 8,885.5 offenses per 100,000 people in 2025.
Central Melbourne had the highest crime rate of any area in Victoria at 23,997.8 offenses per 100,000 people in 2025, up 6.3 percent year-on-year.
Victoria Police said on Thursday that theft is the most prominent crime in Melbourne, accounting for 42 percent of all offenses. ■
