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Tasmania Police Special Operations Group

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Special Operations Group
Active1979–present[1]
CountryAustralia
AgencyTasmania Police
TypePolice tactical group
Role
Part ofSpecial Response and Counter-Terrorism Unit[2]
HeadquartersHobart
Motto"Si Opus Sit"[1]
Where There Is Need
Common nameSoggies[3]
Sons of God[3]
AbbreviationSOG
Structure
Operators20[4]
Notables
Significant operation(s)Port Arthur massacre

The Special Operations Group (SOG) is the police tactical group of the Tasmania Police. In August 2024, the SOG transitioned from a part-time unit to a full-time unit.[4]

Mission

The SOG incorporates police officers who, through specific training, have acquired skills and expertise to provide a specialist resource and response to support statewide operational policing when beyond the scope of general police resources, practices or situation management. The SOG is deployed in high risk situations and in other approved circumstances approved by an Assistant Commissioner.[5][6]

History

The SOG has its origins in the Armed Offenders Squad formed in 1978, that was subsequently renamed the Special Weapons Squad by 1985 and was renamed to the Special Operations Group between 1988 and 1991.[6][7][8][9]

In July 1991, a SOG sniper fatally shot Vietnam war veteran Joseph Gilewicz near Pelverata.[10]

Port Arthur

On 28 April 1996, the SOG responded to the Port Arthur massacre; gunman Martin Bryant, who was intellectually disabled and mentally ill, was reported to have killed over 30 people. The active shooter was in possession of a 5.56mm AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a 7.62mm FN FAL semi-automatic rifle with large quantities of ammunition.

On the morning of Sunday the 28th, Bryant travelled to Seascape, a tourist accommodation facility, and killed the couple who owned the bed and breakfast. Shortly afterwards, he drove a short distance to Port Arthur, a popular tourist attraction, and started shooting people at around 1330 hours. Uniform police, some distance away, were dispatched at 1335. Bryant had killed 27 people changing between rifles. He left Port Arthur at about 1345 hours, carjacking a BMW at the entrance, and later stopped a Toyota exiting a service station, taking a male hostage, before returning to Seascape at about 1400 hours. He had killed a further 5 people. The hostage was secured in the house before Bryant set the BMW on fire. Two uniform police arrived, witnessing the BMW alight, and were fired upon taking cover in a culvert.

At about 1530 hours, negotiators made contact with Bryant, and at 1537 hours, an SOG contingent departed Hobart, 85 km away, by helicopter together with a contingent by car at 1604 hours. At about 2100 hours, two SOG officers joined the uniform officers in the culvert, and at about 2300 hours, all crawled out about 200 m to safety. Continuous fire came from various directions from Seascape using differing weapons, including weapons the owners possessed, including a 7.62mm SKS assault rifle. A sniper approached to within 75 m of Seascape, a lapse by the operator to conceal his radio's light exposed his position to Bryant who could see a red light every time he transmitted. Bryant fired at the sniper and he advised the negotiator that he saw police. The SOG thought he may possess night vision, not aware of the lapse to cover the radio light.

The SOG believed that in addition to the confirmed hostage that the owner couple were still alive and were hostages. The SOG formed a perimeter under constant fire. No fire was returned by the SOG due to risk to hostages. Eight officers from the Victoria Police Special Operations Group arrived by two chartered planes at 2300 hours to provide assistance.

An immediate action plan was prepared to rescue the three hostages, with an estimated in excess of 30% casualty rate for the operators; no movement by a hostage had been witnessed. A decision was made to wait it out, and between 0400 and 0600 hours, there was a lull in the shooting. At about 0745 hours, Seascape was set on fire, and at about 0825 hours, Bryant ran out on fire and unarmed and was immediately arrested. Nearly 200 rounds had been fired from Seascape. After the fire, the body of the hostage from the Toyota was located in the building with fatal gunshot injuries who had been killed before the fire as there was no evidence of smoke inhalation.[11][12][13][14][3]

Deployments

In the 2013–14 year, the SOG conducted eight high risk deployments which had by 2017–18 increased by 150% to 20 high-risk deployments.[15] On 8 December 2018, the SOG tactically resolved a 16 hour siege at a residence in Trevallyn in which at least 33 shots were fired from the residence arresting a man and a woman.[16][17]

Organisation

Prior to 2024 when the SOG became a full-time unit, the SOG had three part-time teams.[7] Two teams were southern based – Alpha team and Bravo team each with eight members, whilst the third, Echo team, with ten members was based in Launceston. Vehicles and equipment were located with each team to provide a more timely response. Each team participated in the on-call roster with this capability maintained every day of the year.[7]

The SOG had always struggled to maintain staffing at the national recommended minimum due to the small size of Tasmania Police providing a limited pool for SOG recruiting.[18] There had been calls to make the SOG full-time.[18] In 2003, ten SOG officers positions were converted to full-time to establish a full-time team to augment the twenty part-time SOG officers.[19][20][21] In 2007, the full-time team's role changed to administrative tasked with coordinating training and equipment and was downsized to four officers to be ultimately ended in 2012.[19][22] In 2018, the government announced funding would be provided to re-establish a full-time core SOG, and in 2019, announced that four SOG officers positions would be converted to full-time in 2020.[23][24] In November 2020, the government announced funding for a further twenty full time SOG officers, whose initial duties will also include COVID-19 response. The SOG was planned to have twenty dedicated officers by 2024 based in Hobart and Launceston.[25][26] In August 2024, the government announced that the SOG had transitioned into a full-time unit.[4]

When the SOG was a part-time unit it was assisted by the SOG Support Unit, formerly the Cordon and Containment Team, that was formed in 2009 to provide additional support for the SOG with holding a close cordon at a high-risk incident in an urban environment and assisting marksmen in rural environments.[27] Team members completed a two-week training course and an eight-day refresher course annually.[27]

Role

The SOG roles are:

Training

Volunteers for the SOG need to successfully complete a one-week selection course, and if successful, must then successfully complete an 8-week training course.[7]

Training includes weapons skills, close quarter tactics, room clearances, method of entry (buildings / doors), less lethal options (including CS gas, Taser and Bean bag rounds), rural and urban tactics, water operations (including the fast response vessel), fast roping / helicopter training, surveillance and many other related disciplines.[7]

45 training days are allocated a year to maintain these skills and there is participation in the ANZCTC Police Tactical Group Skills Enhancement Courses with the 2nd Command Regiment and Special Air Service Regiment.[7][1]

The ABC documentary television series Australian Story screened an episode A Few Good Men in March 2000 on the selection and training course.[28]

Equipment

The SOG is equipped with less-than-lethal equipment that is not issued to general duties officers including the Taser.[5] In June 2012, the SOG took delivery of a Lenco BearCat replacing their Mercedes-Benz Sprinter based Armoured Tactical Vehicle (ATV) acquired in 2006.[29][30][31]

In May 2019, the government allocated A$400,000 in the 2019–20 State Budget for new equipment with A$100,000 allocated each year over four years.[32][33] In March 2022, a A$1 million Specialist Capabilities Building facility was opened in northern Tasmania.[34][35] In December 2022, a A$3.6 million Specialist Capabilities Building facility was opened in southern Tasmania.[35][33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Police Association of Tasmania President Colin Riley (18 December 2019). "SOG-ies' anniversary well worth celebrating". The Examiner. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Tasmania Police Business Priorities 2020–21" (PDF). Tasmania Police. p. 3. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Judy Tierney (15 October 1999). Elite police group pushes hard to find the right stuff. 7.30 Report (Television production). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Felix Ellis (5 August 2024). "Crooks on notice: Full-time Special Operations Group keeping Tasmanians safe". Premier of Tasmania (Press release). Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b Tasmania Police (18 December 2018). Tasmania Police Manual (PDF).
  6. ^ a b "Special Operations Group (SOG)". Tasmania Police. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Eastwood, Gary. "Inside the SOG" (PDF). Police Association News (June 2011). Police Association of Tasmania. ISSN 1327-7626. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2012.
  8. ^ Police source book 2 / edited by Bruce Swanton and Garry Hannigan ; assisted by Trish Psaila (PDF). Phillip, A.C.T: Australian Institute of Criminology. 1985. ISBN 0-642-07831-9.
  9. ^ Westwood, F.D. (20 September 1993). Award variation – restructuring and rates of pay – Structural Efficiency Principle – special case applications – Police Award (PDF). Tasmanian Industrial Commission.
  10. ^ "R v Ian Roger Matterson Ex Parte Christine Debra Moles [1994] TASSC 184". Austlii. Supreme Court of Tasmania. 22 December 1994. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  11. ^ O'Loughlin, Heath (2017). Sons of God : inside the secret world of our Special Operations Group. Sydney, New South Wales: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-74353-937-8.
  12. ^ Dale, Amy (31 March 2015). "Port Arthur Massacre: Off duty Sydney policeman Justin Noble's actions saved lives including that of his pregnant wife". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Police speak about Port Arthur murderer". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 April 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  14. ^ Silvester, John (13 September 2014). "Naked city: Special Ops vet and Patch do the hard yards". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  15. ^ Aquilina, Sarah (20 March 2019). "Special Operations Group deployment more than doubles in five years". The Examiner. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Police storm house, bangs heard in dramatic end to Launceston siege". ABC News. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Man and woman in custody following Trevallyn incident". Tasmania Police (Press release). 8 December 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  18. ^ a b McKay, Danielle (27 September 2009). "Elite cops in short supply". The Mercury. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012.
  19. ^ a b Worley, Mark (6 August 2007). "Anti-terror unit disbanded". The Mercury.
  20. ^ Haley, Martine (20 May 2003). "$3.7m special unit to guard against terror". The Mercury. p. 5.
  21. ^ Annual Report July 2003 – June 2004 (PDF). Tasmania Department of Police and Public Safety. p. 20.
  22. ^ Bennett, Andrew (14 December 2018). "Community deserves full-time officers". The Examiner. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  23. ^ Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Michael Ferguson (25 June 2018). "Over $9 million in illicit drugs seized". Premier of Tasmania (Press release). Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  24. ^ Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Mark Shelton (1 November 2019). "Delivering our promise to boost police numbers". Premier of Tasmania (Press release). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  25. ^ Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Mark Shelton (12 November 2020). "Additional frontline Police Officers to keep Tasmanians safe" (Press release). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  26. ^ Riley, Colin (11 February 2021). "Talking Point: Shocking figures reveal toll of stress on police force". The Mercury. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Special Operations Group – Legislative Council". Parliament of Tasmania. 10 November 2009.
  28. ^ Judy Tierney (9 March 2000). A Few Good Men. Australian Story (Television production). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  29. ^ Attorney-General for Australia Nicola Roxon (15 March 2012). "New high-tech 'Bearcat' armoured rescue vehicles announced". Attorney-General's Department (Press release). Archived from the original on 16 March 2012.
  30. ^ "Launch of new Armoured Tactical Vehicle". State Security (Press release). 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006.
  31. ^ "BearCat ready for duty". The Examiner. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  32. ^ Government Services Budget Paper No 2 Volume 1 (PDF). 2019-20 Tasmanian Budget. Parliament of Tasmania. May 2019. p. 184.
  33. ^ a b Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Jacquie Petrusma (25 December 2021). "Contract awarded to build the Southern Special Operations Group Facility". Jacquie Petrusma (Press release). Archived from the original on 20 January 2022.
  34. ^ Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management Annual Report 2021–22 (PDF). Tasmanian Government. p. 9. ISSN 2207-0494. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  35. ^ a b Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Felix Ellis (14 December 2022). "New $3.6 million Special Capabilities Building to support Tasmania Police". Premier of Tasmania (Press release). Department of Premier and Cabinet. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
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