Berwick electorate
Brad BATTIN (Berwick) (14:50): (588) My question is to Minister for Police. What data does the minister have on the response times of Victoria Police when attending to serious incidents in my electorate of Berwick? Crime Statistics Agency data for the year ending 31 December 2023 has revealed a 12 per cent increase in recorded offences in the Berwick area, with a 12.5 per cent increase in Clyde North compared to the same period in the previous 12 months. A serious consequence of Labor’s failure to keep its promise over police numbers is an alarming rise in crimes remaining unsolved, with 43 per cent in Casey during the 2023 calendar year remaining unsolved, which even exceeds the statewide unsolved number of 41 per cent. Victims of crime – indeed all residents of the Berwick electorate – have been badly let down by the Allan Labor government. Police numbers are going backwards. Police are doing the best they can, but they are just not being given the tools they need, including the Clyde North police station that was promised for 2018.