There'll be a dramatically increased Victoria Police and Australian Defence Force presence in and around metropolitan Melbourne, to ensure residents are follwing the latest lockdown regulations.
Premier Daniel Andrews, Police Minister Lisa Neville and Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton have launched an expanded version of Operation Sentinel.
It will see a highly visible police presence in and around the 32 Local Government Areas with Stage Three 'Stay at Home' restrictions.
"None of us want to be in this position, but we all have to do the right thing," Police Minister Lisa Neville said.
"Our police will be out in full force across the entire state to make sure that's happening."
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Operation Sentinel will involve state-wide resources including the Public Order Response Team, Mounted Branch, Highway Patrol and local police.
The government has also sought the assistance of the Australian Defence Force.
About 260 ADF members will assist with on-ground operations, focusing on staging areas, planning, logistics and transport.
They will also play a key role in monitoring the boundary around metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.
Booze buses will be deployed to road stops and checkpoints to monitor traffic flow, and police will use Automatic Number Plate Recognition to scan registration details and identify the residential addresses of licence holders.
Victoria Police will also have vehicle checkpoints across the state - including the main arterials to regional Victoria.
As part of Operation Sentinel, police continue to make house visits and patrol public places all over Victoria, helping to limit the spread of coronavirus.
From 11.59pm on Wednesday, metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire will return to Stage Three Stay at Home restrictions for six weeks.
For Victorians living in these locations, there will only be four reasons to leave the house: shopping for food and supplies, care and caregiving, exercise, and work or study - if it can't be done from home.
Victoria Police have undertaken 810 spot checks in the past 24 hours at homes, businesses and non-essential services across the state, and issued a total of 6,314 fines as part of Operation Sentinel.
Anyone who breaches these directions faces on-the-spot fines of $1,652 for individuals and $9,913 for businesses.
Police are conducting checks at businesses, homes, community locations and non-essential services across the state to ensure directions are being followed.
Operation Ribbon and Operation Shielding remain in place.
The community can continue to report non-urgent crime and events, as well as breaches of the Chief Health Officer's directives, by calling the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or submitting an online report at police.vic.gov.au/palolr.
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