Hundreds of extra police will flood popular destinations in Sydney following the Martin Place siege and alleged hate threats, including hoax phone calls threatening to destroy a mosque in Auburn.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Fuller said police dealt with a number of “hate and bias” crimes following the fatal siege but said extra officers were being stationed across Sydney’s CBD to ensure people felt safe.
“There has been some issues of hate or bias crime but it’s certainly minimal compared to the outpouring of support and you’ve all seen the flowers at Martin Place,” Mr Fuller said.
The announcement of additional officers came as police arrested a man who allegedly made threatening phone calls to a mosque in Auburn in western Sydney. Police allege the man, 30, rang the mosque and made several threats.
He was arrested at a Dural home in Sydney’s north-west and later charged with threatening to destroy property, using a carriage service to make a hoax threat, using a carriage service to threaten serious harm and offend.
The man was granted strict conditional bail and was expected to appear before Parramatta Local Court on January 21.