By Alesha Capone
A Wyndham councillor has called for protective services officers to be posted at Werribee Magistrates Court every weekday, in place of police officers.
Safer communities portfolio holder Kim McAliney said that if PSOs were assigned to the court, it would free up the police to carry out other duties in Wyndham.
Cr McAliney said that most courts in the Melbourne metropolitan and suburban area were manned by PSOs.
“My understanding is Werribee court is one of the only courts manned by two police officers daily, Monday to Friday, in Victoria, effectively taking 10 shifts a week off Wyndham streets where police could be patrolling and making our community safer,” she said.
“My question is, why are 10 [police] shifts being allocated to the court house every week, when PSOs should be manning it?”
Cr McAliney said she believed one reason behind police being assigned to the Werribee court could be that the building has not been substantially upgraded for a number of years. She said that with only two courtrooms, and victims and perpetrators sometimes having to sit together, this could pose a “security risk”.
Victoria Police is responsible for providing security to the state’s courts.
“This role is performed by Protective Services Officers at city-based courts and a selection of suburban courts,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said. “As we continue to increase our PSO workforce, we expect to deploy them to more suburban and regional courts.
“Currently police officers perform this role at the Werribee Magistrates Court.
“Although there is no current plan to change the current arrangements, Victoria Police is constantly reviewing resourcing.”
A new justice precinct in East Werribee has been talked about for a number of years.
In 2014, the state government allocated three hectares of land, directly behind Werribee police station, for a potential justice precinct.
Earlier this year, Wyndham council made a pre-budget submission to the state government’s 2019-20 budget, asking for funding to be allocated to develop the justice precinct.
