Warning as universities refuse police help with pro-Palestine camps

Victoria Police are raising concerns with universities daily about ongoing pro-Palestine student encampments but have been told officers are not welcome on campus.

Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said police were meeting with security staff to outline their fears that simmering tensions could boil over and become violent.

Counter-demonstrators clash with university security at Monash on Wednesday.

Officers have already been called to Monash University, when pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups clashed. As protests were this week established at other Melbourne campuses, universities have sought legal advice from federal authorities on how to respond.

Patton told ABC radio on Thursday he was concerned that the longer the encampments remain, the greater the chances are that tensions will escalate. He said some of the protesters were not university students.

“The longer these encampments go on, the more people get there,” he said.

US universities have called in riot police to break up their own student camps, leading to ugly clashes, but Australian campuses are largely leaving protesters alone, while warning that any violence, racism or property damage will not be tolerated.

Patton said if local protests escalated in the same way they have in America, the job for police would become increasingly difficult.

“We have expressed that if and when the universities want us, if it gets to a situation like we’ve seen overseas where there’s been building occupation or something like that and the universities then call on us to clear them out, that becomes increasingly difficult the longer the … encampments go on and the more people get there,” he said.

“We have engaged with [the universities] and we’ll be engaging with them again to outline to them they need to be satisfied with the risk they’re accepting in what they’re doing by allowing these encampments to continue.”

Asked if he was worried about clashes the longer the encampments were allowed to continue, Patton replied: “Absolutely.”

Patton said universities were keeping police informed when issues arose in the camps.

“They are providing advice to us about what they’re seeing and if there are any issues arising, but the issue for me is how long do they want this to continue? Where you have people, non-students, activists, I’ll say, engaged in encampments and a lot of antisemitic views being expressed.

“We don’t want to see this tension exist. So is there more the universities can do? Well, they need to consider … how much more risk they’re accepting by allowing these encampments to continue.”

Patton would not comment on particular slogans and chants being used at some encampments.

“Many people have a different view on chants, slogans, words, and while they may or may not be offensive to some people, many of them aren’t illegal,” he said. “We get legal advice. If anyone commits any criminal offence, we enforce it.”

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