Friday 13 April 2018

The Andrews Labor Government is delivering the police, protection and prevention our state needs, with new laws, more specialist police, equipment and technology to crack down on serious and organised crime.

Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing welcomed the launch of the Community Safety Statement 2018/19 and the announcement that a further $115 million package will be funded in the upcoming Victorian Budget 2018/19.

The Government’s first Community Safety Statement outlined our plan for keeping Victoria safe, with a $2 billion investment that provided the people, resources and laws and support Victoria Police needed.

The new Statement recommits the Government and Victoria Police to a shared community safety vision, which includes:

• $24 million cybercrime package, with new specialist police and cyber capabilities to fight technology enabled offending by serious and organised criminals
• $25 million crime prevention package, with $5 million to support Neighbourhood Watch, Crime Stoppers and the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council.
• New mobile police stations to tackle crime when and where it happens
• Specialist training and access to long arm firearms for select police in Melbourne and regional Victoria
• New police powers and new reforms to better respond to and prevent terrorism and organised crime
• Longer prison sentences and harsher penalties for drug dealers, tougher consequences for young offenders, and the tightening of Community Corrections Orders for serious criminals The latest statement continues the Labor Government’s record police investment, which is delivering 3135 new police by 2022, the largest police station upgrade program in a generation, as well as specialist equipment and technology for police. 400 Police Custody Officers have been delivered and as of January 2018, more than 2374 shifts have been delivered at Bairnsdale police station, 1538 shifts at Sale police station and 5051 shifts at Morwell police station,  helping to free up police officers to return to the frontline.Since July 2015, the government has also provided $1.779 million in funding under the Community Crime Prevention program for 37 projects to improve community safety in Gippsland.
• The government has also funded a regional forensic hub in the Latrobe Valley, which is due to be operational by the end of 2018.  This will ensure local police have faster access to forensic testing and can investigate and prosecute high-harm crimes like drug crime even more efficiently.
• The government’s record investment in Victoria Police is having an impact with the latest crime statistics showing the number of offences in the Gippsland Local Government Area dropped an average of 10 percent from 2016 and 2017.
• An additional 25 specialist officers will work across the Bairnsdale & Morwell divisions, targeting family violence.  These officers will cover the Shires of Bass coast, Baw Baw, South Gippsland, Latrobe City, Wellington and East Gippsland.

People can visit communitysafety.vic.gov.au to find out more about the work underway to support a safer Victoria.

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing;

“Our police officers deserve the best equipment, facilities and resources to support the crucial work they do in fighting crime and protecting the community. We are giving them that.”

“Gippsland is already seeing the benefits of the government’s record funding for Victoria Police, with the number of offences down in 2017 by an average of ten percent.”

“The new Community Safety Statement 2018/19 initiatives on top of the additional police resources for Gippsland, new laws and police powers will continue to have an impact on crime in Gippsland and across the state.”