Monday 5 March 2018

Gippsland will see more police on the streets, with an additional 25 police officers above the attrition rate due to hit the beat over the next year as the Andrews Labor Government continues to deliver the biggest boost to police resources in history.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Police Lisa Neville today joined Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton to announce the allocation of the next 825 new police – part of the biggest recruitment effort in Victoria Police’s 165 year history.

From next month, this next allocation of the Labor Government funded 3135 new police will start to be deployed to communities across Victoria, with all new police officers on the beat by April next year.

The new police officers have been allocated to communities based on Victoria Police’s Staffing Allocation Model, which examines key data to ensure local communities have the police they need.

Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing welcomed the new police officers who will be out in the community protecting residents with the resources they need to target and prevent burglaries, violent crime, and family violence.

The new police officers include an extra 23 police officers allocated to police stations across Gippsland in specialist family violence roles, which frees up other police to deal with other crime. There will also be additional parental leave backfill positions.

Family violence can take up to 60 per cent of police time on shift, with officers attending a family violence incident every seven minutes. These dedicated resources will be a huge benefit to local stations.

The resourcing boost is part of the Labor Government’s Community Safety Statement, which is underpinned by a record $2 billion investment that is giving police the resources, powers and laws it needs to keep Victoria safe.

Thanks to this boost, Victorians are starting to see more police on the street, more proactive patrols and resources to target crime.

The record investment in police and community safety is already making a difference, with crime decreasing for two consecutive quarters – with the most recent data from the independent crime statistics agency showing the biggest drop in the crime rate in more than 10 years.

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing:

“The safety of our local community is key and we’ve listened to police to give them everything they need – the resources, the technology and the powers – to keep the community safe.”

“Our communities in Gippsland can expect to see more police on the street, more proactive patrols and even stronger enforcement over the next 12 months.”

“This is another major community safety boost for Gippsland, with an extra 25 officers to hit the beat over the next year as part of our record funding for police.”