The City of Melbourne's newly-established Community Safety Officers have been instructed 'not to be afraid to use force' when moving on people that are begging or sitting against buildings in the Melbourne CBD. 

This shocking revelation was covered in The Age on Saturday April 11th through a whistleblower who contacted the paper after recent dismissal when he 'shoved' someone. Joel Owen claims he was only acting in line with the training he received and former colleagues have either quit or remain confused as to their role within the program.

The story also revealed the program fudged their own statistics by often deploying teams to quiet areas of the municipality and counting tram stop directions as significant interactions with the public.

The Homeless Persons Union Victoria has been raising the alarm about the City's use of quasi-military-style groups being set upon some of the most vulnerable members of our community since October 2025 and we forecast that it was only a matter of time before violence occurred.

Our homeless community are vulnerable and need our support, not attacks from our government employees.

The City claimed it initially installed security guards in the CBD to protect it's patrolling officers, yet since that time the narrative has shifted to a need for broader 'community safety' or 'connecting vulnerable people with the services they need'. What is actually happening is force directed towards our unhoused community.

This program is harmful and being mimicked across different municipalities in Melbourne. We must stop this trend NOW!