Petition Bendigo crime reporting and police record systems

The petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the community concerns regarding the increase in crime and lack of police presence in Bendigo. This includes the failure by police in Bendigo to provide an event number and receipt outlining the details of a reported crime that could be used to form leads and inform details of breaches of personal safety intervention orders that are put in place to protect women in Bendigo from harm, abuse and targeted nuisances.

Regional Victorian women are being killed at triple the rate of those in Melbourne. How many more Bendigo women will it take to expose and stop violence against women in the regions, where the problem is most severe, but support is most lacking. 

Bendigo police do not keep proper records and receipts of ‘events’ being reported by Bendigo ratepayers. This is based on a lazy and paternalistic attitude that women who seek protection orders are wasting police time when they try to report breaches and interferences to the police. An event number system would provide Bendigo residents with a record of any report made to a Bendigo police officer of any criminal incident. This record should include a Victoria Police event reference number and a receipt of the advice given with a date and time reference.

The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Council call on the Government to invest in police resources and availability in Bendigo and to set up an event number system for any reported incident of criminal behaviour or disputes between neighbours that warrant a record.