400 Extra Police to Protect Victorian Families
The Victorian Government's commitment to make Victoria safer is being realised with Victoria Police announcing that 400 more frontline police will be allocated across the state by 30 June next year.
Acting Premier and Minister for Police and Emergency, Services Peter Ryan said Victoria Police would first allocate 125 more police in Melbourne and regional Victoria by the end of December 2011.
From the end of October, the first of the new police officers will take up their posts serving growing communities across the state. This includes Frankston, Brimbank, Melbourne, Hume, Moreland and Wyndham, while Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Shepparton, Latrobe, Mildura and other regional communities will also benefit from extra police.
"Families have every right to be safe and feel safe in their homes and on the street and the Victorian Government is ensuring Victoria Police is properly resourced to undertake necessary crime deterrence and preventative measures.
"Putting more police on the beat will boost community safety and serve as a visual reminder that crime, violence and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated."
Victoria Police had already allocated 600 additional police across Victoria since November 2010, with 450 of those part of the Victorian Government's commitment to deploy 1,700 extra officers to make Victoria safer.
"Our police work extremely hard keeping their communities safe and these additional officers will boost their efforts in targeting local crime issues and making our roads safer," Mr Ryan said.
The government is also resourcing Victoria Police to recruit 940 Protective Services Officers by November 2014 to make train stations across Melbourne and major regional centres safer for commuters.