The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is calling for support from travellers and aviation workers to help keep everyone safe now that Australia’s international border has reopened.
Commander for Specialist Protective Command at the AFP, Alison Wegg said as domestic and international travel increased, there was potential for growth in crime through the aviation sector, including drug importations, illicit cash smuggling and human trafficking.
“Airport Watch engages the community as ‘the eyes and ears’ within the aviation environment,” CDR Wegg said.
“The public plays a critical role to help police and the Aviation industry detect, resolve and deter criminal activity or aviation-based terrorist attacks by reporting suspicious activity,” she said.
CDR Wegg said the Airport Watch Program operated across nine major airports – Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney – and aimed to educate people working in and travelling through airports about what activity was suspicious and how to report it to authorities.
She said suspicious activity or unusual behaviour included displaying an unusually keen interest in security procedures; recording or taking photos in or around sensitive areas of the airport; acting strangely or in an unusual manner; asking questions to gain information about the airport; and trying to gain unauthorised access to secure areas.
Further information on what to look out for at airports can be accessed at this PS News link.
