As the Delta strain of COVID-19 makes its way around other parts of the country, anyone entering Victoria from a red zone without the proper permit faces fines of $4957.
Mr Patton said the border operation, called Operation Sentinel, deployed staff on Friday and was activated on Saturday, involving 260 police officers, 75 police vehicles, as well as helicopters providing aerial support.
Victoria recorded no new local cases of COVID-19 in Victoria as of midday Monday, but Victorian health minister Martin Foley said the previous few days were “some of most significant since the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020, right across the nation”.
Airwing helicopters are set to perform daily patrols of the Hume Hwy to “identify any suspect vehicles that need to be intercepted”, and fixed wing aircraft will join the border patrol from mid-week.
On the ground, police will monitor six zones along the border, travelling in normal patrol cars, highway patrol cars, automatic number plate recognition vehicles, and booze buses.
The operation underway in order to identify vehicles that may have travelled from NSW, including those from red zones.
Those living in Victoria and NSW border communities will continue to be able to access the ‘border bubble’, using their driver licence to prove their residential address.
Border community residents do not need to apply for a permit provided they remain within the bubble.
Victorian residents entering from a red zone must apply for a permit to return home, isolate for 14 days and return a negative test, while interstate residents will be turned back at the border and sent home.
Those travelling from an orange zone must have a permit, get tested within 72 hours of arriving, and isolate until they receive a negative result.
Mr Patton described Victoria Police's border enforcement as a “highly visible, mobile model” and a “prevention, detection and enforcement model”.
He said the ‘ring of steel’ between regional and metropolitan Melbourne in 2020 was a “fixed model” with permanent checkpoints, which differed from today’s mobile mode.
The fixed model was effective, Mr Patton said, but there was a lot of downtime with wet weather, and it caused excessive delays, hindering emergency workers and inconveniencing border communities.
Most importantly, analysis indicated the fixed model was less effective.
“For every 1000 vehicles checked with the fixed model, 1.4 offences against the Chief Health Officer’s directions were recorded,” Mr Patton said.
By comparison, the Chief Commissioner said a mobile model identified more infringements, and gave “greater coverage, agility, flexibility and unpredictability”.
“Analysis found for every 1000 vehicles checked (under a mobile model), 48 offences were recorded.”
The Australian Defence Force has been called on to help with border management and household verification of people observing quarantine arrangements in Victoria.
Mr Patton did not rule out switching to a fixed model should circumstances require it, and warned the community that police officers would show less discretion toward those breaking the rules in coming days.
“Anywhere, anytime, we can pop up, we can put up a booze bus interception site, random interception sites and checkpoints,” he said.
“Our message is very clear; over the last few days we’ve seen a degree of discretion provided in terms of warnings, and turning people around - that discretion, that window period is very rapidly closing.”
Mr Patton said it was “time for enforcement” because there had been “ample community education” regarding the rules and permit system in place.
Victorian health minister Martin Foley thanked Victoria Police for "outstanding leadership".
He said the travel permit system was in place to protect public health, and to allow contact tracers to keep ahead of potential outbreaks
Since the first red zone came into effect on Wednesday, June 23, the Department of Health has processed more than 5,000 red zone permits for returning Victorians and more than 21,000 orange zone permits.
So far 38 per cent of red zone permit holders have returned a negative test, as well as 31 per cent of those from orange zones.
Those who provide misleading information in a travel permit application will face fines of up to $1,652.
“Know the zone in which you are travelling - zones change as circumstances change,” Mr Foley said.
Visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au/victorian-travel-permit-system for an up-to-date map of red, orange and green zones and to apply for a permit.
