Melbourne council arms front-line staff with batons

A Melbourne council has moved to arm some of its most front-line staff.

Neil Mitchell confirmed the City of Casey’s law enforcement officers have received training on how to correctly use batons.

The batons are predominately used on dangerous animals when they’re seized.

Producer Samantha Lowcock shed some more light on the issue.

“They carry batons in their vehicles for self defence,” she told 3AW Mornings.

“I was told these were local law officers and they do deal with a range of things.

“When they try and grab the dogs, if the dog comes at the them they have a baton to defend themselves.”

But Neil Mitchell questioned why council law enforcement should have to deal with unruly canines.

“Your average council officer shouldn’t be dealing with dangerous dogs,” he said.

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”

Click PLAY below to listen to Sam and Neil’s full chat