Duress alarms given to councillors amid violent threats from public
The portable devices have GPS tracking, record calls and even have 4G mobile coverage. This image is not the precise model or company. (ABC News)
In short:
Duress alarms, commonly used by independent workers who experience violent and aggressive behaviour at work, are being rolled out to councillors of a Victorian local government area.
City of Greater Bendigo councillors have received the devices, dubbing them "panic buttons".
A recent survey found four of five Victorian councillors had experienced threatening or intimidating behaviour in recent years.
A local council has equipped their elected representatives with so-called mobile "panic buttons" amid escalating threats of violence from the public.
The City of Greater Bendigo, north-west of Melbourne, recently gave its eight councillors personal duress alarms, which can be worn as a necklace or on the hip, following a review into unsociable behaviour directed at local government staff and councillors.
When the alarm is triggered, it notifies a private alarm company, which then communicates with the individual through an internal speaker.
If nobody responds, the agency can escalate its response to emergency contacts and authorities.
City of Greater Bendigo Council Mayor Thomas Prince said there was only so much that could be done to protect councillors and the introduction of duress alarms was happening across the local government sector.
"When I was down in Melbourne for a Municipal Association of Victoria conference, I spoke to some other councillors from metropolitan areas that either had them, or were in those discussions [to get them]," Cr Prince said.
Bendigo Mayor Thomas Prince says the devices have been given to other staff in local government. (Supplied: Thomas Prince)
It is unclear how many councils have distributed similar technology.
Several peak bodies, agencies and the alarm company have been contacted for comment.
Cr Prince said he was unsure how useful the duress alarms would be in a threatening situation.
"[For] a violent circumstance … the reality is you're probably going to call the police,"he said.
No-one from Bendigo's council used the devices since they were handed out last week, Cr Prince said.
Councillors report worrying behaviour
A recent survey by the Victorian Local Governance Association found four out of five Victorian councillors between 2020 and 2024 had experienced threatening or intimidating behaviour.
A conference of Victoria's local government in February highlighted the need to address antisocial behaviour. (ABC Central Victoria: Peter Lenaghan)
Another Bendigo councillor Aaron Spong said he had been receiving increasing social media abuse in the lead up to an incident in public last week when he was approached by a man who launched a vitriolic tirade.
"[He] dropped a few inappropriate words and then spat on me,"Cr Spong said.
"I was taken aback by the incident [and] very, very disturbed by it all."
The councillor, based in the small town of Heathcote, said he had never met the man and most of his complaints were either personal or not within Cr Spong's control at local government level.
Cr Spong said he was now cautious around town.
"Every time I go out now, you have to evaluate or gauge the feel of the community," he said.
Cr Aaron Spong says most interactions and consultations in Heathcote are robust and beneficial. (Supplied: Aaron Spong )
Councillors across Victoria have raised concerns about threats of violence, some saying it would take death threats before authorities responded.
In one instance, a member of the public threatened a councillor online, saying they would shoot them.
"We are in the front line, being local government, [and] we tend to feel the brunt of all government issues, whether it's state or federal," Cr Spong said.
"When things go bad in a local community they usually turn to just one person."
Cr Spong said he thought the mobile duress alarms were a good initiative.
"I call them the panic buttons," he said.
Peak body, the Municipal Association of Victoria, and Victoria's Local Government Minister were contacted for comment.