Brimbank urgently needs 42 more frontline police officers to be on par with the state average, the Police Association claims.
Association secretary Ron Iddles said police stations in Brimbank had been understaffed for too long.
“The figures back up what our Brimbank members regularly tell us about how stretched they are in trying to combat the scourge of ice, family violence and related crime,” he said.
Mr Iddles said Brimbank’s 159 first-response officers translated to a police-to-population ratio of just 82 first-response police for every 100,000 people – well below the state average of 102.
“We are genuinely concerned for the community because an insufficient number of first-response officers means slower response times and fewer proactive police patrols,” he said.
While Sunshine police station will welcome 20 new custody officers from January, Acting Inspector Brenda Bagally said the station had more crime to deal with than ever before.
“We’re simply tied up with a lot more stuff to do,” she said. “Our demographics haven’t changed. It’s not so much a number shortage, – it’s just the environment we’re in these days.
“A big problem is that police go out and are then bogged down making an arrest so we can’t stretch everywhere we need to be.
“We would always welcome new police officers but until then we have do the best with the resources we have.”
The issue of police numbers in Sunshine was raised in Parliament by Western Metropolitan MP Bernie Finn.
“I think of the struggle that the officers at Sunshine … put up with every day, with numbers that are so far below what they need to do their job in the way they would like to,” he said.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force was constantly reviewing police numbers to see if they met the needs of the community.
“We don’t just look at numbers at an individual police station,” she said.
“We look at how we can ensure we have the numbers and capability to respond to the needs of the community across a whole division.
“If we believe we need more police for a certain reason or in a certain area, we will act on that.
“Our No.1 priority is keeping the community safe.”
Minister for Police Wade Noonan said the government would continue to take advice from Victoria Police on extra resources.
with Paul Shapiro
