Wyndham will soon see an increase in the number of police officers on the beat – but they won’t be enough, the police union claims.
Police Minister Lisa Neville last week announced that the training of 300 frontline officers funded in this year’s state budget would be fast-tracked to meet demand in growth areas.
The officers were set to be sworn in by mid- 2018, but the minister last week announced a $26 million package to expedite the new officers to have them on the beat by June next year.
“We know we need more frontline police out there,” Ms Neville said at a press conference last week. “We are moving as quickly as we can to get these new police resources into those communities that are under pressure like … Werribee and Wyndham, where we’ve got huge growth.
“We are aware of the pressures in some communities about meeting demands … it takes 33 weeks to train a police officer. We’re working to get them out as soon as possible.”
Ms Neville said Victoria Police was revamping the allocation process, taking into account not only population growth, but also things such as the number of family violence call-outs and other calls. Police Association of Victoria secretary Ron Iddles congratulated the state government on bringing forward the recruitment and training of new frontline officers.
“Still, additional officers are required to keep up with population growth … an additional 164 for the Wyndham area alone, the second largest number of police required by service area in Victoria,” he said.
Casey is the most under-resourced police area in the state.
