Cop out: police

By Casey Neill
NO extra police are on their way to the Yarra Ranges.
This is despite a desperate need for more officers in the area, according to Police Association secretary Greg Davies.
Victoria Police last month announced key areas that would benefit from the 450 officers to come through the Police Academy this year, and plans to redeploy 266 police back into frontline roles.
They identified the “most immediate need” for extra police in the Frankston, Maribyrnong, Hume, Wyndham, Moreland, Brimbank, Dandenong, Casey, Melton, Ballarat and Port Phillip Police Service Areas (PSAs).
This was based on a review of operational activity and demand, emerging trends, community perceptions and organisational capacity.
But Mr Davies said Yarra Ranges required “a significant increase in numbers of frontline police officers to properly protect and serve its community” and independent research from National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) backed this view.
“A recent study concluded that Yarra Ranges requires a boost of an extra 26 police officers in order to provide an adequate pro-active and reactive policing service to the community,” he said.
“This puts Yarra Ranges among ‘most in-need’ outer metropolitan areas when it comes to police resources.”
Mr Davies said there were limited policing resources available across the state.
“But it is disappointing that the Victoria Police force has not afforded a higher priority to increasing police numbers in Yarra Ranges, particularly given previous requests from the Yarra Ranges Council,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Ken Lay said these PSAs had been made an immediate priority, but many other parts of the state would benefit from additional police over the next five years.
“We recognise that for a variety of reasons these areas need an immediate boost in numbers,” he said.
“Whilst these key areas have been identified as requiring additional police, as we continue to work through this process many more locations across the state will be identified and receive additional officers in coming years,” he said.