Victims of traumatic crimes, such as sexual abuse, physical assaults and armed robbery, will get some extra support when reporting to Sunshine police station from next month.
The Victim Assistance Program is up and running at the station on Tuesdays and Thursdays, providing victims with case management, advocacy and counselling services.
Sunshine is one of several stations in Melbourne taking part, including Melton and Werribee.
The program, funded via the Department of Justice and Regulation, will be boosted to five days a week at Sunshine from September, with several trained workers on hand to help victims.
Sunshine police Senior Sergeant James Sullivan said the beefed-up VAP program would address a gap in policing.
“Police are good at policing, but as far as the victim support side of things, there probably has been a gap in the past,” he said.
“Rather than having a victim of an armed robbery or an assault coming into the station and getting an electronic referral, they’ll be able to get face-to-face straight away with the right people.
“It’s not based on any recent trends. It’s just a recognised need, supporting them (victims) through the criminal justice system.
“All crimes can be traumatic, but you’d be looking more at sexual offences, physical assaults, robbery and armed robbery victims. But it’s not just limited to those crimes.”
He said there is also a specific “referral based system” for victims of domestic violence at the station.
