What was claimed
Victoria Police arrested hundreds of people in Melbourne in a weekend for jaywalking.
Our verdict
False. Victoria Police say the crackdown didn’t happen, and the photo of armed police in Melbourne is from a 2021 protest.
AAP FACTCHECK - An old photo of an armed police unit in Melbourne is being used to falsely claim hundreds of Victorians were arrested and charged for crossing the road against a red light.
Victoria Police said it had no record of the purported operation against jaywalkers, and jaywalking is not an arrestable offence.
The photo used in the post has also been edited from a genuine image of a protest against COVID-19 restrictions in 2021.
The claim appears in an August 1 Facebook post featuring an image that purports to show an armed police team in riot gear patrolling an urban street. An armed officer in the foreground appears to escort a female pedestrian.
"Melbourne special Police arresting anyone that crosses the intersection while the DON'T WALK sign is red," the post reads.
"220 people so far this weekend have been arrested and charged."
Google searches using the date and location of the claimed jaywalking crackdown return no credible news reports about the supposed incident.
However, a Google reverse image search shows the original photo was taken on September 22, 2021, by news photographer Con Chronis, as seen in Getty Images’ photo archive.
The Getty Images caption states it shows a police officer detaining a protester during a demonstration against COVID-19 regulations in Melbourne on September 22, 2021.
The woman in the original 2021 photo is much younger and has long blond hair.
The image in the Facebook post appears to have been digitally altered, replacing the blonde woman with a woman with short, light brown hair.
The Facebook post also includes an "AI content" label applied by Meta when its systems detect an image may have been created or altered using artificial intelligence (AI).
Victoria's road rules are set out in Road Safety Road Rules 2017 and states the punishment for jaywalking is a fine.
Sections 230 to 239 cover rules for pedestrians, including requirements to obey pedestrian and traffic signals.
A summary of the rules on the Transport Victoria website says pedestrians are not allowed to cross the road “if they are facing an amber or red traffic or pedestrian light”.
Additionally, pedestrians within 20 metres of a pedestrian crossing must use the crossing, the Transport Victoria website says.
The maximum penalty for breaching these rules is two Victorian penalty units, equivalent to $418.20 in the 2026/27 financial year.
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed that crossing against a red signal is "not an arrest and charge offence" and is dealt with via fines.
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