Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced to invest $49.4 million and hire 88 new specialised professionals to double Victoria’s counter-terrorism capabilities.

Among the new hired personnel will be counter-terrorism experts, police officials, intelligence masters and forensic experts. Victoria Police aims at enhancing the pace of investigating terrorism-related matters and thereby working on prevention programs to avoid terrorist attacks in the state.

With the extended use of Internet and social media sites by the terrorists, Victorian government has taken an initiative to make sure an improved analysis is made to handle extremists’ threat. Andrews also said that the package money will help purchase new equipment that could support the recently established Counter Terrorism Command.

The premier said that Victoria wouldn’t be defined by the threats and challenges from violent communities and it will find out ways to beat this challenge. He said Victorians are stronger than such day-to-day challenges. “These are very real challenges, very real threats and the best way to confront them is by giving Victoria Police the resources needed,” 9News quoted Andrews as saying.

Police Minister Wade Noonan and Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton accompanied Andrews when he made the announcement. Ashton said that extra resources will help Victorian Police form the best counter-terrorism units in the nation. He added that the number of investigations on counter-terrorism has increased a lot and hence there was an immediate need for extra resources.

“It continues to grow at an increasing rate,” he said. “We prevent, on a fairly regular basis we believe, (terrorism) acts occurring.”

Meanwhile, the government also declared that the people charged with terrorism allegations will not be allowed bail until they show an exceptional reason to apply for the same. The provision for this already exists under federal law but because of the presence of earlier stale laws, it fails to get applied.

“Things are about to get a whole lot tougher for bail jumpers and for people charged with terrorist offences as it relates to bail,” the ABC quoted Attorney-General Martin Pakula as saying.

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