Victoria Police have revealed they did not follow the law during 23 weapons search operations over the past eight years. These searches took place in designated areas where police have the power to conduct electronic wand or pat-down searches for weapons. Police said 33 people who were charged or fined in these operations will be informed about the legal issues. However, hundreds of people were searched without proper authorization. The police only discovered some breaches after Guardian Australia raised questions. Eighteen non-compliant searches were found during an internal audit of designated areas between March 2017 and March 2025. The audit expanded after Guardian Australia asked about four specific areas used since September. These four breaches involved operations advertised on a Victoria Police website but not published in the government gazette as required by law. The searches linked to these breaches happened before protests in Melbourne's CBD on 13 September, 19 October, 15 November, and 22 November. Police said some searches also happened outside permitted event hours or not linked to any event, which also breaks the law. Victoria Police spokesperson stated, "Victoria Police is aware of issues which mean a number of weapons search operations are likely to be non-compliant or partially non-compliant with legislative requirements." They blamed "administrative errors such as public notices not including the name of the event." One protest on 19 October caused violence and injuries to protesters after police used a stinger grenade. These searches were conducted under laws recently given more power. Police clarified that not all searches during these operations were illegal. Searches based on reasonable suspicion remain valid. The police added, "At this stage 33 people who were either charged or fined are adversely impacted. This represents less than one per cent of searches during all weapons operations." They assured the public that the majority of over 200 operations had no compliance issues. Victoria Police will write to the affected individuals to explain how to appeal charges or fines. They have also notified the state's anti-corruption watchdog and strengthened their procedures to prevent future errors. The recently announced six-month weapons search in the city is not affected. However, Ilo Diaz from the Centre Against Racial Profiling criticized the police, saying, "These invalid designated areas shows that we cannot trust Victoria Police with these powers. There are not enough guardrails on the increasing powers police holds." Diaz warned that communities of color might suffer most if these powers go unchecked. She added, "If it wasn’t for people looking through the government gazette, this would never have been picked up."