Latest news with #CR1
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- The Guardian
Security chief tells Bondi Junction inquest Westfield has ‘very strong security culture' due to Frank Lowy
Westfield's global security chief has pushed back against criticism of how guards responded to the Bondi Junction stabbing attack, telling an inquest the company has a 'very strong security culture' established by founder Frank Lowy. John Yates, the director of security at Scentre Group, which operates Westfield malls globally, told the New South Wales coroners court about his previous career serving as the most senior detective in London's Metropolitan police from 2007 to 2009. Yates then worked as the most senior counter-terrorism figure in the UK, including providing protection for the royal family and at Heathrow airport, the inquest was told on Tuesday. He was questioned about security operations at Westfield Bondi Junction after the inquest previously heard a security officer had left the CCTV control room for a toilet break when Joel Cauchi, 40, launched his stabbing attack that killed six people and injured 10 others in April 2024. During Monday's proceedings, a British counter-terrorism expert claimed that even when they returned to the control room, the guard, known as CR1, did not respond in a timely manner as the attack unfolded. In a triple-zero call played in court, the security officer could be heard telling police there had been 'shots fired'. Asked if there were injuries, she replied: 'We're not aware, we're just evacuating the centre as quickly as we can.' Later in the call, she added: 'So I was just informed that we've got three to four injuries and two stabbings' and 'the police are doing CPR on someone on level five'. On Tuesday, Yates told the inquest he thought earlier evidence criticising CR1's behaviour was 'very harsh'. He suggested it was 'unrealistic' to expect security guards – who undergo 80 hours of training and are paid between $26 and $28 per hour – to perform like police, who in NSW attend a residential training college for six months before being paired with a senior officer. 'Their role is to observe, report, escalate ... it's certainly not to engage [with an attacker],' Yates told the court. Yates said Scentre Group had a security team, including a small intelligence operation, which monitored physical safety and cybersecurity. He said that was unusual for a shopping centre company and was due to founder Frank Lowy taking security seriously. 'I'd say we have a very strong security culture,' Yates said on Tuesday. The security chief responded to criticism of the triple-zero call that CR1 made to report the incident that could have confused NSW police. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion He said that sitting in the CCTV control room was more complicated than 'monitoring a bank of screens' – with only the main exits and entries displayed constantly. He said there were hundreds of cameras installed across Westfield Bondi Junction and that knowing which camera to bring up to follow a live incident was not straightforward. 'The idea that you can go straight to the right camera and then immediately start to follow, track ... is totally unrealistic,' Yates told the inquest. In addressing concerns about CR1's clarity in the triple-zero call, Yates referenced his time at London's Metropolitan police, and examples of even highly trained professionals making 'catastrophic errors'. Yates brought up the Metropolitan police killing of Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes – who they suspected to be a terrorist – at Stockwell tube station in the weeks after the 2005 London bombings as an example of 'people under pressure making poor decisions'. Yates defended CR1 as 'competent to be in that control room' on the day. 'I think she did the best she could with what she knew herself,' he said. 'She undoubtedly struggled on the day,' he conceded, but added it was a 'horrible multigenerational event'. The inquest continues.
Sydney Morning Herald
19-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bondi Westfield response not ‘match fit', says counter-terrorism expert
A control room operator during the Bondi Westfield stabbing attack has been described as not 'match fit' by an international counter-terrorism expert, who said she was 'the wrong person at the wrong time' in the high-pressure job. A coronial inquest also listened to a harrowing triple zero call made 10 minutes after Joel Cauchi began his knife rampage, in which the operator passed on 'mixed-up' and confusing information to police. Monday marked the opening of the fourth week of evidence in the Lidcombe Coroner's Court. Psychological and security are experts expected to reflect on the horrific mass stabbing and response over coming days. The first was international British counter-terrorism expert Scott Wilson, who was tasked with reviewing the security response. Loading Much evidence has been heard about the competence of a control room operator, known only as CR1 by court order, who was watching the Westfield's cameras on the day of the attack. Cauchi had turned his military knife first on Dawn Singleton at 3:33pm and then Jade Young seconds later on 13 April 2024. But against protocol, CR1 had stepped out of the room 40 seconds before Cauchi began his attack. In three minutes, Cauchi had fatally wounded six people and 10 injured others.
The Age
19-05-2025
- The Age
Bondi Westfield response not ‘match fit', says counter-terror expert
A UK counter-terrorism expert has slammed the response by Bondi Junction Westfield's control room to last year's stabbing attack, saying the operator was not 'match fit' and 'the wrong person at the wrong time' in the high-pressure job. The coronial inquest also listened to a harrowing triple zero call made 10 minutes after Joel Cauchi began his knife rampage, in which the operator passed on 'mixed-up' and confusing information to police. Monday marked the opening of the fourth week of evidence in the Lidcombe Coroner's Court. Psychological and security are experts expected to reflect on the horrific mass stabbing and response over coming days. The first was international British counter-terrorism expert Scott Wilson, who was tasked with reviewing the security response. Loading Much evidence has been heard about the competence of a control room operator, known only as CR1 by court order, who was watching the Westfield's cameras on the day of the attack. Cauchi had turned his military knife first on Dawn Singleton at 3:33pm and then Jade Young seconds later on 13 April 2024. But against protocol, CR1 had stepped out of the room 40 seconds before Cauchi began his attack. In three minutes, Cauchi had fatally wounded six people and 10 injured others.
Sydney Morning Herald
19-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bondi Westfield response not ‘match fit', says counter-terror expert
A UK counter-terrorism expert has slammed the response by Bondi Junction Westfield's control room to last year's stabbing attack, saying the operator was not 'match fit' and 'the wrong person at the wrong time' in the high-pressure job. The coronial inquest also listened to a harrowing triple zero call made 10 minutes after Joel Cauchi began his knife rampage, in which the operator passed on 'mixed-up' and confusing information to police. Monday marked the opening of the fourth week of evidence in the Lidcombe Coroner's Court. Psychological and security are experts expected to reflect on the horrific mass stabbing and response over coming days. The first was international British counter-terrorism expert Scott Wilson, who was tasked with reviewing the security response. Loading Much evidence has been heard about the competence of a control room operator, known only as CR1 by court order, who was watching the Westfield's cameras on the day of the attack. Cauchi had turned his military knife first on Dawn Singleton at 3:33pm and then Jade Young seconds later on 13 April 2024. But against protocol, CR1 had stepped out of the room 40 seconds before Cauchi began his attack. In three minutes, Cauchi had fatally wounded six people and 10 injured others.
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- News.com.au
‘Dangerous' detail in triple-0 call from Westfield Bondi Junction control room revealed after fatal attack
A counter-terrorism expert has revealed a 'dangerous' detail in a triple-0 call made by a control room operator who had been flagged for 'ongoing issues' and was on the verge of being replaced before the fatal Westfield Bondi Junction attack. Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Ashlee Good, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia were all killed by Joel Cauchi at Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13, 2024, before he was then shot dead by police. A coronial inquest into the attack heard from Scott Wilson, a crisis management solutions expert who was called in for expertise in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing inquiry and 2019 Christchurch attack inquiry, on Monday. The court was previously told concerns had been raised in the months before the attack about the competency of the sole control room operator (CRO), who can only be known as CR1, rostered to the CCTV control room on the day of the attack. This included how she failed to answer questions on a competency checklist related to an active armed offender (AAO) weeks before her training was signed off in January 2024. There was no active CCTV monitoring as the attack unfolded, as CR1 went to the bathroom 40 seconds before Cauchi stabbed his first victim. By the time she re-entered the room, Cauchi had attacked eight people, with all 16 people stabbed by the time another security employee (known as CR2) entered the room. Cauchi was shot dead by Inspector Amy Scott at 3.38pm. The court was played the call made by CR1 to police about 3.36pm, though it appeared she didn't get through to police until about 3.42pm due to being on hold. CR1 told the police operator that there was an armed offender in the centre and that 'we've been informed that there's been shots fired'. When asked if she knew if anyone was injured, she said: 'Um we're not aware, we're evacuating the centre as quickly as we can.' She later told the operator that she'd 'just (been) informed we've got three to four injuries, two stabbings', she didn't have a description of the offender, and police were on site. Mr Wilson said the information relayed in the call by CR1 was inadequate, noting that if the call had been made in the first minute after she was aware of the attack he 'could probably accept it, but 10 minutes in, it's just not good enough'. He said the operator taking the call could've been led to believe there was an armed offender with a gun shooting people in the centre, which could be 'really dangerous'. The operator could've misinterpreted CR1's call as meaning three or four people had been shot and two stabbed, Mr Wilson told the court. 'Why would you not say multiple stabbings … and police have shot a suspect?' Mr Wilson said. In an alternative world, CR1 should've told police that there were multiple stabbings and police had shot the suspect so as not to mix up who had the gun at that stage. He also 'cannot believe' that CR1 wouldn't have known a single offender had been shot by the time of the call. Police were aware Cauchi had been shot by Inspector Scott by that stage; however, Mr Wilson said CR1's call may have confused officers in the police control room. He also said police should've been called about a minute earlier, as it would've taken CR1 about 30 seconds to work out what was happening once she returned to the room. CR1 wasn't 'picking up anything' on CCTV Upon viewing CCTV footage of CR1's actions on the day, Mr Wilson said CR1 'wasn't obviously up to speed with competence' and her statement from the day was 'very poor quality'. Mr Wilson said had it been someone working at a cafe in the centre it would be expected that their statement might not be great because it's not part of their job; however, he'd expect the statement of someone working in security to be better quality. While she might have been able to do 90 per cent of her job, Mr Wilson said he didn't feel CR1 performed her job adequately on the day. 'Is she able to step up when it all goes wrong? And my answer would be no,' he said The court was told CR1 'suffers adversely' from the impacts of that day, with counsel assisting the coroner Chris Murphy telling the court that she was in a 'very difficult situation' on the day. Mr Murphy also reiterated that issues had been raised with CR1's record and report writing in the months before the attack. Mr Wilson said CR2 should've taken over from CR1 once he returned to the control room, as he was able to quickly identify what was going on once he returned to the room. 'If you've not got faith in (CR1), why leave her in that room?' Mr Wilson asked. He said CR2 had picked up the suspect within 30 seconds of looking at CCTV. '(You) watch CR1 and she doesn't seem to be picking anything up on those screens,' Mr Wilson said. 'I think if (CR2) had been in there from the start … you might've found the response was much better.' The court was told Mr Wilson's role in the inquest was to identify potential lessons and not to place blame on individuals. Mr Wilson also said the responsibilities of a CRO appeared to be 'too large for one person', with Mr Murphy noting a pilot program requiring two security guards to rostered to the control room at any given time, among other policies, has been implemented by Scentre, which operates a string of Westfields across Australia, including Bondi Junction. The nature, timing, and adequacy of the response by Scentre Group and its subcontractors Glad Group and Falkon Security is being probed in the inquest.
