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Police have stepped up their presence throughout western Sydney, with officers spotted on horseback and in shopping centres, looking to ensure residents are complying with the public health orders.

Officers were seen warning and fining residents for mask compliance in Centro Bankstown, a central shopping centre in the region, with local barista Yorgo telling me he felt police were exaggerating the rate of non-compliance in the region.

“I saw cops fining people outside Woolworths for not wearing a mask properly.

“I think they are overdoing it. They seem to be targeting some different racial groups in the area. I see everyone abiding by the rules, and I think it’s exaggerated.”

A sense of paranoia and fear was palpable in the centre. A woman tipped me off about police fining people at a certain entrance, but did not want to give any further details. “Be careful,” she whispered, adjusting her mask.

Another shop owner, who didn’t want to be named, told me he’d seen many officers patrolling the shopping centre already.

“They’re everywhere.”

A staff member at the centre, who also didn’t want to be named, said police had walked by her stall every 15 minutes from early in the morning.

“They’re doing the rounds, but everyone is doing the right thing anyway.

“From the day the lockdown started, there hasn’t been that many people without masks, everyone is doing the right thing. And if I see anyone without a mask, I offer them a mask and they always take one and say ‘I was just about to buy one!’

“I think people are aware of the situation, and the quicker we can get through this, the better.”