More police to hit our streets

Brimbank is set to have more police on the beat.

From May, an additional 825 additional officers will be deployed across Victoria over a 12 month period.

Areas with the highest need for policing services, which includes Brimbank, will have 300 officers allocated to boost resources.

The Brimbank service area will receive four additional officers.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the new recruits are training at the Police Academy, with the new officers set to be progressively rolled out to stations and specialist areas.

“This is the biggest roll-out of new police in Victoria’s history,” he said.

Other police service areas in the west set to benefit from the announcement include Wyndham (12), Melton (4), Hobsons Bay (6) and Maribyrnong (2). A further 93 additional members will be deployed across specialist areas including road policing, counter terrorism and intelligence and covert support.

In addition, 208 specialist family violence police will be deployed across the state.

Police Minister Lisa Neville said the additional resources will have a profound impact on community safety.

“Thousands of new police are set to hit our streets as part of our record investment and this is already making a real impact with the crime rate continuing to fall,” she said.

“Putting dedicated family violence specialists in our towns and communities will make a huge difference – freeing up police to focus on the day-to-day work of keeping Victorians safe and fighting crime.”

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton echoed Ms Neville’s sentiments.

“At Victoria Police our absolute focus is on keeping people safe. To do that we need to be the best policing service we can be – agile and responsive to the needs of communities, on the front foot, preventing crime and locking up offenders,” he said.