Melbourne crime wave: Influx of 300 police recruits to combat crisis

AN extra 300 cops will hit the beat in Melbourne’s growth corridors from next week in a bid to combat the state’s crime wave.

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AN extra 300 cops will hit the beat in Melbourne’s growth corridors from next week in a bid to combat the state’s crime wave.

The Fawkner Division, at Hume, Moreland and Moonee Valley, will get the biggest influx of police, followed by Brimbank, Dandenong and Westgate.

The majority of the new recruits will head out on general duties while about one in ten will be assigned to specialist groups, including sex crimes and criminal investigations.

The officers are among 3135 committed last year in a $2 billion announcement — the biggest boost to police resources in the state’s history.

They will be out in communities next week after graduating tomorrow.

The allocation of police officers has been determined by population growth.

Police Minister Lisa Neville said the allocation of police officers had been determined by population growth, pressure areas and “where they actually need to be”, not by politics.

“This allocation will see just over 100 go to communities like Wyndham, Melton to Caroline Springs to Brimbank communities,” she said.

“You will also see almost 90 go to places like Moonee Valley, and Moreland and Hume communities.

“You will see the funding of the new Mernda 24-hour police station, so 45 police officers that go in there to staff the new police station.

“There’s also additional resources for Geelong — 10 in that community — and some specialist assistance for our SOCIT team, those who do some of the really tough work in local communities around child abuse and sexual offences.”

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the extra officers came at a “critical” time when Victoria Police was facing “a lot of policing issues that we haven’t had to face in previous years and decades”.

“These additional police are much needed in these areas but they’re very much just the start of what will now being an ongoing surge of police numbers right across the state.”

Victoria Police is facing a crime wave.

There was a “significant” demand for police in SOCIT — the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Teams — particularly in the southeast.

But Mr Ashton said there was a “balance to be struck” between the frontline and specialist units, in deterring crime by holding a visible presence and building strong cases against perpetrators.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the allocation was part of the government’s promise to end the “boom and bust” cycle of investment in policing.

Police Association Secretary, Sgt Wayne Gatt said the announcement would enable officers to “make real inroads in combating current challenges such as the ice epidemic, family violence and violent crime”.

A further 2729 police officers will be recruited and rolled out over the next four years, while 106 specialist police already allocated for public order and gang crime.

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POLICE ALLOCATIONS

Fawkner Division (89)

— Hume (36)

— Moreland (36)

— Moonee Valley (12)

— Fawkner SOCIT (5)

Brimbank Division (63)

— Brimbank (33)

— Melton (16)

— Brimbank CIU (9)

— Brimbank SOCIT (5)

Dandenong Division (50)

— Casey (31)

— Greater Dandenong (10)

— Dandenong CIU (8)

— Dandenong Crime Scene Services (1)

Diamond Creek Division (45)

— Whittlesea (45)

Westgate Division (41)

— Wyndham (27)

— Maribyrnong (4)

— Westgate CIU (5)

— Westgate SOCIT (5)

Geelong Division (10)

— Geelong (10)

Knox Division (2)

— Maroondah (2)