Victoria’s Police Minister says she is “absolutely confident” some of the 3135 new police to be rolled out by the state government during the next four years will end up in Bendigo.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Lisa Neville said the new officers would be allocated based on a model derived from population and crime data from across the state.
“Over time we want to see all communities have more police and that’s what the allocation model’s all about, it’s about making sure every single police area has an adequate number of police now but also into the future,” she said.
“Unfortunately we had a situation where we had almost three years of no new police coming through the academy so that’s why we’ve got the first 300 and now we’ve got a record number coming through so we will ultimately see more police here in Bendigo.”
Ms Neville made the comments during a visit to Bendigo yesterday to speak with traders, police and the council about issues with anti-social behaviour in the Hargreaves Mall.
She said the issues were not unique to Bendigo and suggested the city could look to other areas of the state for solutions.
“You do find this in areas where you’ve got malls and you’ve got young people who congregate particularly during the day and after school times,” she said.
“I’m open to all ideas about how we might come at this particular issue, tapping into some of the experts around the table here in Bendigo today but also looking at other communities that have made a difference as well.”
But Nationals MP Luke O’Sullivan accused the government of overlooking Bendigo in the rollout of new police, saying its number one priority should be to make the community feel safe.
“What we need to see is more of an allocation and more of significance considered for regional communities so they can have the police to make them feel safe,” he said.
Bendigo local area commander Shane Brundell said police currently had enough resources to respond to crime in the city.
“We look at the data, we look at when crime is happening, when incidents are occurring, we constantly review that data and we roster and task our units accordingly,” he said.
“There’s harm being done to the community right across Bendigo and we provide a response to all of that.”
Jason Walls
Bendigo born and bred, interested in business malpractice, crime, social justice and corruption in all its forms. Got a tip? 5434 4476
Bendigo born and bred, interested in business malpractice, crime, social justice and corruption in all its forms. Got a tip? 5434 4476
