Weekend availability pool
65 % of 14 000 sworn 👮♂️Victorian Police officers =
9 100 officers.
Fixed commitments
Routine weekend demand = 6 500
Porepunkah man-hunt for Desi Freeman = 300
Total fixed = 6 800
Remaining officers available for surge duties
⚡9 100 – 6 800 = 2 300 officers
📊Police-to-crowd ratio (double staffing for weekend shift rotations)
2 officers per 37.5 protesters = 2 / 37.5 ≈ 0.0533 officers/protester.
🔢Maximum crowd the 2 300-officer buffer can cover
2 300 ÷ 0.0533 ≈ 43 125 → ≈ 43 000 protesters
Therefore, 43 000 protesters in the Melbourne March for Australia rally would use the entire 2 300-officer buffer, exhausting all remaining police capacity in Victoria.
