Deputy Commissioner’s warning to Melburnians who have bypassed checkpoints

(Image: Victoria Police)

Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent has issued a harsh warning to Melburnians who have bypassed roadblocks to visit regional Victoria.

Mr Nugent said Melburnians might make it past the ring of steel, but they’ll be caught in regional towns.

“You’re going to get checked elsewhere,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“I’ve asked all of our police stations in all of the regional and rural areas to actively patrol the roads and those areas that people might congregate or go to, caravan parks, camp grounds, cafes, restaurants.

“You’re going to be spotted out and about.”

It comes after multiple reports that police weren’t checking drivers at roadblocks this morning, due to the rain.

Mr Nugent confirmed that was the case.

“That’s for safety purposes, for safety for our members but also for the community. We don’t want collisions at the checkpoints. It’s the same if we have heavy fog … we will shut it down for safety reasons.”

Press PLAY below for more

Why thousands of cars are passing through the ‘ring of steel’ unchecked