Thirty-six frontline police officers have been ripped out of Wyndham police stations to work on taskforces, according to the Police Association.
The numbers have been revealed as residents across Wyndham campaign for a greater police presence, calling for additional officer numbers to bring the municipality up to the state’s average in the wake of increased incidents of aggravated burglary.
Police Association secretary Ron Iddles said police members being taken off the frontline to work on taskforces was “making a bad situation even worse”.
“Even with all members available for first-response duty, Wyndham has the worst police-to-population ratio in Victoria with 49 response officers per 100,000 people,” Mr Iddles said.
“This pales compared to the state average of 102 for every 100,000 people.”
Mr Iddles said removing members from the frontline impacted on service delivery to the public and was placing great stress on “already over-burdened members whose health and wellbeing is being put more at risk”.
Questioned on the effectiveness of relocating frontline police to taskforces, Police Minister Lisa Neville said decisions about the best operational responses to crime were best left with those with the necessary training and years of experience.
“However, police have indicated that taskforces and frontline policing work hand in hand,” she said.
“Without the intelligence, specialist skills and resources like aerial surveillance, detectives investigating serious crime would not have the same success. They rely on each other.”
Ms Neville cited Operation Cosmas, a statewide police operation launched in May to target aggravated burglaries and carjackings as an example of a frontline and taskforce partnership that worked.
Victoria Police spokesman Ben Radisich said the organisation’s focus was on ensuring it was in the best position to respond to crime.
“At times, setting up a taskforce is the smartest and most efficient way,” he said.
Victoria Police had produced great results using taskforces, and 120 arrests had been made across Victoria as part of Operation Cosmas.
Ms Neville said growth areas in the western suburbs would receive a share of the 300 frontline police funded in this year’s state budget.
“An additional 11 day and night patrols have been allocated to the western suburbs and this additional resourcing will continue,” she said.
