Police officers are preparing to protest at the lack of members in the Wyndham area.
Police Association secretary Ron Iddles said a rally would be held on September 6 at Station Place to draw the public’s attention to the “poor state of police resources” in Wyndham.
“Police in Wyndham are desperately short-staffed,” Senior Sergeant Iddles said.
“This problem just keeps getting worse by the day as the population continues to rise … our members are increasingly overburdened with crushing workloads while the public is deprived of an optimal policing service capable of effectively combating the scourge of family violence, street assaults and drug-related crimes.”
Senior Sergeant Iddles said the rally would be held from 11am to send a clear message to both sides of politics.
“The numbers tell [the] story,” he said. “Wyndham has just 45 first-response officers for every 100,000 people in the municipality. This compares with a state average of 102 officers for every 100,000.
“This gap will continue to widen unless drastic action is taken now to improve police resources at Wyndham.
“Our research is telling us that the population is projected to continue to soar in the next five years by a whopping 24 per cent.
“That means Wyndham needs an additional 159 first-response officers during the next five years just to reach and then maintain the current average Victorian ratio.
“Until this situation is urgently fixed, the Wyndham community and our members who serve them will continue to be short-changed.”
Last week, Star Weekly revealed the state government had allocated three hectares of land for a new justice precinct in Werribee.
It is thought that the move will bring more police officers to Wyndham.
Senior Sergeant Iddles applauded the move but said more needed to be done.
“In our view, both the existing Werribee police station and courthouse are inadequate, unsafe and need to be replaced with a more modern and functional facility,” he said.
“We’re also of the strong view that Wyndham needs an additional police station where the strongest growth is projected to take place, be it either in Wyndham Vale or Point Cook.”
Police Minister Kim Wells said: “We have been in discussions with the Police Association for some time about their wishlist for the coming election.
“The decisions on where to build new police stations, as well as the increase in police numbers based on population growth is part of an ongoing law and order discussion.
“The dialogue between the Napthine government, Chief Commissioner Ken Lay and the association remains open and ongoing.
“Any decisions made on these issues, however, will not be rushed.
“They need to be carefully considered, taking into account the wants and needs of each community.
“The Napthine government has delivered more than 1700 extra police officers to Victoria, exceeding our election commitment. These extra police mean Victoria Police can fight more crime more effectively and detect crime better than before.”
