A recommendation that PSOs were not adequately trained to handle the weapons came from a report commissioned by Victoria’s Federation of Community Legal Centres. 

Released on Friday, the report into the first three years of PSOs found that 12 weeks of training for PSOs was not enough to warrant them carrying guns. 

The FCLC said that compared to the 33 weeks of training police members received, the PSO training was not safe. 

“Combined with the shorter length of training, less on-the-job experience and supervision PSOs receive compared to police, there’s a strong case to remove the option of lethal force,” FCLC senior policy adviser Michelle McDonnell said. 

“PSOs carry a range of equipment adequate to deal with the situations they encounter without resorting to firearms.”

Victoria Police on Friday hit back at the FCLC recommendations, saying police hadn’t been consulted as part of the report. 

“Since the introduction of PSOs, we have received a lot of positive feedback from the community about their increased feelings of security on the public transport system at night,” Sergeant Kris Hamilton said.

“And we have seen PSOs make a significant contribution to improving community safety.

“However, we are dedicated to continuous improvement of our PSO program and are keen to discuss the report with the federation in more detail.”

The FCLC, which represents 49 community legal centres in Victoria, made several recommendations relating to PSOs, including the need for an annual report into incidence of use of force by PSOs. 

“This report and a series of media reports suggest that excessive force is a continuing concern,” Ms McDonnell said. 

“We need to protect the rights of the public, reduce the risk of excessive force by PSOs, and implement robust accountability as we also build the evidence base to assess whether or not PSOs are making a genuine contribution to actual rather than perceived public safety.”

patrick.byrne@fairfaxmedia.com.au