More police to be deployed across Victoria

Many Victorian communities can look forward to seeing an increased police presence in their area.

A decision was made on where 825 additional officers will be deployed across Victoria over the 12 month period starting in May.

300 are being allocated to areas with the highest need for policing services, with growth areas such as Geelong, Wyndham, Melton, Hume and Cardinia Police Service Areas set to receive a resourcing boost.

A further 93 additional members are being deployed across some of our specialist areas such as Road Policing, Counter Terrorism, Intelligence and Covert Support, Professional Standards and Transit and Public Safety commands, and the Legal Services Department.

208 specialist family violence police will be deployed across the state, enabling Victoria Police to commence the transition to Family Violence Investigation Units (FVIUs) with dedicated detectives and intelligence practitioners embedded into the teams.

103 positions will help deliver Victoria Police’s first Parental Leave Backfill Program.

An additional 121 police will help deliver a range of initiatives from the Community Safety Statement 2017 including the Police Assistance Line and Online Reporting and an expansion of the Air Wing.

These are the first of 2,729 new officers announced by the State Government in December 2016.

Training at the Academy is underway with these new officers to be progressively rolled out to stations and specialist areas from May.

It is the second time Victoria Police has used its Staff Allocation Model (SAM), which was developed in in 2016 and further matured in 2017, to ensure that additional police are being deployed to the areas of highest need.

The SAM was used for the first time last year when a separate injection of 300 additional police, funded in the 2016-17 State Government budget, were allocated predominantly to stations in urban growth areas. These included Wyndham, Brimbank, Hume, Moreland, Whittlesea and Casey. Roll out of these officers started last year and will be complete by April this year.

A number of measures of demand are taken into consideration by the SAM, such as calls for assistance, reported crime, event management and traffic incidents, and the time required to provide these services and Victoria Police will continue to consult with The Police Association as the model is further matured.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said:

“At Victoria Police our absolute focus is on keeping people safe. To do that we need to be the best policing service we can be – agile and responsive to the needs of communities, on the front foot, preventing crime and locking up offenders.

“That is what we are creating in Victoria – using the significant investments made by the State Government to put more police on the streets with the right training and right equipment, able to respond and prevent crime where and when needed.

“This allocation is just the first of 2,729 additional police being deployed by July 2022. As with all further rounds, these resources have been allocated to the areas of greatest need, as determined by our Staff Allocation Model.

“This is a more sophisticated approach than has previously been used to ensure we are getting maximum benefits from the investments made.”

Deployment decisions for the recruitment program will be made annually, rather than being locked in through a multi-year projection, allowing flexibility and response to changing police demand in the community.

The allocations of the 300 new police in work areas by Division and Police Service Area are as follows:

EASTERN REGION - 60

Forest Hill Division (52)

• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (14)

• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Investigation Unit (2)

• Divisional Highway Patrol (2)

• Whitehorse Police Service Area (12)

• Monash Police Service Area (12)

• Manningham Police Service Area (10)

Knox Division (4)

• Knox Police Service Area (2)

• Maroondah Police Service Area (2)

Goulburn Valley Division (2)

• Shepparton Police Service Area (2)

Bairnsdale Division (2)

• Wellington Police Service Area (2)

WESTERN REGION - 23

Geelong Division (19)

• Divisional Highway Patrol (2)

• Geelong Police Service Area (17)

Ballarat Division (4)

• Ballarat Police Service Area (3)

• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (1)

SOUTHERN METRO REGION - 73

Prahran Division (19)

• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (7)

• Port Phillip Police Service Area (6)

• Stonnington Police Service Area (6)

Moorabbin Division (22)

• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (5)

• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Investigation Unit (5)

• Kingston Police Service Area (8)

• Glen Eira Police Service Area (4)

Dandenong Division (32)

• Cardinia Police Service Area (6)

• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Investigation Unit (4)

• Divisional Highway Patrol (12)

• Division Crime Investigation Unit (6)

• Divisional Crime Scene Services (4)

NORTH WEST METRO REGION - 144

Melbourne Division (13)

• Yarra Police Service Area (13)

Westgate Division (33)

• Divisional Crime Scene Services (1)

• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (12)

• Hobsons Bay Police Service Area (6)

• Maribyrnong Police Service Area (2)

• Wyndham Police Service Area (12)

Brimbank Division (4)

• Melton Police Service Area (4)

Fawkner Division (45)

• Divisional Highway Patrol (5)

• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (19)

• Divisional Crime Scene Services (4)

• Hume Police Service Area (15)

• Moreland Police Service Area (2)

Diamond Creek Division (49)

• Divisional Highway Patrol (2)

• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (17)

• Divisional Crime Scene Services (6)

• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Investigation Unit (2)

• Banyule Police Service Area (6)

• Darebin Police Service Area (8)

• Whittlesea Police Service Area (8)

The allocation of 208 family violence specialist roles in key locations are as follows:

EASTERN REGION - 61

• Box Hill (8)

• Knox (2)

• Bairnsdale (6)

• Morwell (10)

• Shepparton (5)

• Wangaratta (7)

• Benalla (3)

• Sale (5)

• Seymour (3)

• Wodonga (2)

• Croydon (6)

• Kilmore (2)

• Warragul (1)

• Wonthaggi (1)

WESTERN REGION - 54

• Ballarat (10)

• Bendigo (10)

• Geelong (9)

• Horsham (7)

• Mildura (7)

• Warrnambool (6)

• Swan Hill (5)

SOUTHERN METRO REGION - 37

• Dandenong (14)

• Moorabbin (7)

• Frankston (1)

• Prahran (6)

• Seaford (1)

• Somerville (8)

NORTH WEST METRO REGION - 44

• Caroline Springs (7)

• Fawkner (5)

• Melbourne West (6)

• Epping (2)

• Wyndham (6)

• Brimbank (2)

• Footscray (2)

• Mernda (5)

• Broadmeadows (3)

• Preston (3)

• Heidelberg (2)

• Laverton (1)

SPECIALIST COMMANDS - 12

• Transit & Public Safety Command (2)

• People Development Command (10)

Media Unit

54703