Tuesday, 17 March 2020

Residents in Baw Baw Shire, Bass Coast Shire and Latrobe City will soon see more police on the streets, with an additional 80 officers allocated to the police division that services the local community as the Andrews Labor Government continues to deliver the biggest boost to police resources in history.

Baw Baw Police Service Area will receive 15 new officers, Bass Coast Police Service Area will receive 11 new officers and Latrobe Police Service Area will receive 27 new officers on top of the 27 additional officers that will be shared across the three Police Service Areas.

Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing welcomed the new police resources, which come on top of the 30 officers already delivered to the Morwell Police Division as part of the government’s record investment in police.

The Labor Government’s record $3 billion investment has seen more than 1,900 of 3,135 new police deployed to communities across the state, and from May this year another 580 police officers will be progressively deployed to stations across Victoria.

An additional 208 officers will go to specialist roles such as family violence, road policing, and state emergency support.

By April next year, more than 2,700 new police will have been deployed across Victoria – a massive investment in community safety.

Victoria Police is deploying new police when and where they are needed most, using the sophisticated Staffing Allocation Model. The model has been developed by Victoria Police in consultation with the Police Association of Victoria and is endorsed by the government.

In their latest allocation, police are focusing on meeting minimum service levels for a growing population and making sure each Victorian community has the required resources to effectively respond to crime in their local area.

All 788 police will be deployed by April 2021 and will address issues important to Victorians, like family violence, drug crime, road safety, and counter terrorism.

The government will continue to work closely with Victoria Police to ensure they have the resources, powers and technology they need to keep Victorians safe and prevent harm.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville

“Our record investment is delivering more police officers out on the streets, helping police to relentlessly focus on driving down the crime rate across our state and continue to keep our communities safer for years to come.”

“We’re investing in more police than ever before on the streets in Melbourne and across regional areas, in frontline duties and specialised roles to keep Victorians safe.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“This is another major boost for Bass Coast Shire, Baw Baw Shire and Latrobe City with an extra 80 officers to hit the beat over the next year as part of our record funding for police.”

“These police will be out in the community protecting and serving residents to reduce crime, backed by the resources they need to target and prevent burglaries, violent crime, and family violence.”