Police seek powers to evacuate Sydney if terrorists attack

SYDNEY - New South Wales Police will ask the new premier for extra powers and submit plans to evacuate Sydney city centre as part of their anti-terrorism strategy.

The plans include procedures for clearing the CBD or instructing people to stay at work until transport and communications have been restored, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Incoming Premier Morris Iemma will be asked to widen police search-and-seizure powers and increase their counter-terrorism resources, the counter-terrorism commander of NSW Police, Deputy Commissioner Andrew Scipione, told the newspaper.

The proposed legislation is expected to allow random bag searches and might reduce legal curbs on searching the property of suspects.

It is also expected to propose deploying more police with counter-terrorism training and expertise in monitoring transit systems. There is also a push for more police sniffer dogs.

Under the proposals to be put to Mr Iemma, the police would have overarching responsibility for any evacuation, Mr Scipione said.

Outgoing Premier Bob Carr said the decision to put the police in charge came after the panic caused by a suspected gas leak at Town Hall station last year, which caused the rail network to be shut down.

Mr Scipione said in the event of an attack or disaster it was important to have clear lines of command.

"You can only have one team in command," Mr Scipione said.

"You look at London or Madrid, you look at any major event, the community usually look to the police to co-ordinate the disaster recovery arrangements.

"The evacuation plan doesn't necessarily mean you need to move thousands of people out," he said.

"It may well be that they stay right where they are until we get the transport moving again."

In a separate development, hundreds of Sydney detectives have been ordered to wear uniform or a fluorescent vest and patrol busy transport interchanges and other important infrastructure for an hour every day.

The directive from Acting Deputy Commissioner Terry Collins, a response to last month's London bombings, asks local commanders to use all officers, specifically detectives of all ranks.

- AAP