Victoria to get more frontline police in bid to fight crime
Hundreds of additional police officers will be deployed across Victoria in the next 12 months with many going to regional and rural towns to tackle the scourge of ice, family violence and road deaths.
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Hundreds of extra police will be sent to country towns to fight drug-related crime and family violence and prevent road deaths.
The counter-terrorism team will also be bolstered.
The Herald Sun can reveal 788 additional police officers will be deployed across the state over the next year from May. More than 350 frontline officers will be sent to regional and rural cities and towns such as Geelong, Warrnambool, Horsham, Goulburn Valley, Morwell and Bairnsdale.
Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said the officers would help address drug, violence and road safety challenges.
“When we look at regional and rural Victoria, we know there are additional challenges compared to metropolitan areas, such as the impact of the drug ice, which is significant, together with road trauma, family violence and other crime,” said Mr Nugent.
“We will also be prioritising to bushfire-affected areas to assist in the recovery.”
Suburban areas including Monash, Whitehorse and Knox will also get more frontline cops in coming weeks.
This is the third — and biggest — deployment of frontline police to regional areas since the government said it would fund an additional 2729 police by July 2022.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said: “This is about ensuring we have the most responsive, agile and well-equipped police force to drive down crime for a growing population.”
The latest round includes 189 police to specialist areas including criminal investigation units, sexual offence and child abuse teams, highway patrol and regional crime teams.
For the first time, a dozen extra police will be sent to each of the state’s four regional crime teams to tackle high-harm offending such as carjackings and home invasions.
Mr Nugent said this would help police to more quickly stop criminals on sprawling crime sprees.
“These offences occur really quickly across a range of areas. They might start in the northwest metro area then they are across to Kew 30 minutes later,” he said. “These regional crime teams will work closely together, share intelligence and respond to reports of violence and organised crime.”
Crime Command units including homicide, armed crime, family violence, intelligence and covert support, road policing and transit and public safety will also get an additional 208 police. This includes an extra 13 counter- terrorism police and 25 new protective service officers.
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