More police on the beat

07 Mar 2018 Benalla Ensign, Benalla VIC (General News) Victorias north-east will see more police on the streets, with an additional 33 police officers due to hit the beat during the next year as the Andrews Labor Government continues to deliver the biggest boost to police resources in history. Premier Daniel Andrews and Police Minister Lisa Neville this week joined Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton to announce the allocation of the next 825 new police part of the biggest recruitment effort in Victoria Polices 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 to be introduced by April next year. The new police officers have been allocated to communities based on Victoria Polices staffing allocation model, which examines key data to ensure local communities have the police they need. The new police officers will be out in the community protecting and serving residents to reduce crime, with the resources they need to target and prevent burglaries, violent crime, and family violence. The new police officers include an extra 20 police officers allocated to police stations in the northeast as specialist family violence roles, which frees up other police to deal with other crime. It also includes 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 safety of our local community is key and weve listened to police to give them everything they need the resources, the technology and the powers to keep the community safe, State Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said. Our communities in the northeast 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 Victorias north-east with an extra 33 officers to hit the beat over the next year as part of our record funding for police. The resourcing boost is part of the Labor Governments 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. This is another major community safety boost for Victorias north-east with an extra 33 officers to hit the beat over the next year as part of our record funding for police.? Jaclyn SymesLicensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.