Thursday, 20 June 2024

Community safety

Brad BATTIN (Berwick) (14:11): My question is to the Minister for Police. Victorians are being terrorised in their own homes, with home invasions up by more than 18 per cent in the last year alone. What will the Victorian minister do to stop the home invasion crisis in Victoria?

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Racing) (14:11): What we know on this side of the house is you do not catch crooks cutting budgets. There were $100 million cuts to the police budget when they were last in office.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, if it assists the house, I think the fact was incorrect there. You cannot catch crooks cutting Victoria Police by 317 officers in the last two years.

The SPEAKER: I will remind members again, as I did during question time yesterday, that there are ways to raise points of order, and most of you know those ways. That was not the way.

Anthony CARBINES: I notice today that the acting deputy commissioner of Victoria Police Brett Curran in his announcement in a police media statement made the point very clear that in the independent police statistics that have been released we have seen a record 68,000 arrests in the past 12 months by Victoria Police, the most arrests in the past five years by Victoria Police members. I want to start by thanking each and every member of Victoria Police for the work they do day and night. If you do your investments in Victoria Police –

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the minister was asked about the home invasion increase of 18 per cent. Can you draw him back to the question?

The SPEAKER: The minister was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Anthony CARBINES: We understand that there is only one person in this place who lost their seat running on law and order matters, and that is the Leader of the Opposition.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Tarneit can leave the chamber for an hour.

Member for Tarneit withdrew from chamber.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is debating the question and also talking down crime.

The SPEAKER: Minister, come back to the question and be relevant to the question that was asked.

Anthony CARBINES: I welcome the point of order from the member for Brighton, in the third-safest LGA in the state on all the statistics available to us. Operation Alliance and Operation Trinity, conducted by Victoria Police, have brought additional resources to bear to break down and disrupt youth gangs, youth crime and youth offending but also motor car theft. We have seen some 3007 ‍offences and some 2500 arrests around Operation Trinity and Operation Alliance. This is about disrupting youth offending and also holding those offenders to account. You can only bring additional resources to bear from Victoria Police and disrupt crime and keep the community safe when you have a $4.5 billion investment into Victoria Police, when you recruit and fund 3600 additional police and when you go out to the police academy every fortnight and see double squads graduate. That is 48 every fortnight coming out of the academy to be deployed to police stations across the state.

Victoria has the largest police service in the country. We have an offence rate for young people that is lower than New South Wales, one of the lowest in the country. We also know that we need to balance our work to hold young offenders to account with the investments of $34 million that we have been making in this budget around electronic monitoring and around intensive bail supports to make sure that we are holding young offenders to account. We are also providing police with the tools that they need, whether that is an extra $215 million that we have invested for tasers for Victoria Police members to make sure they have got the tools they need to do their job day in, day out.

Can I say again to Victoria Police that we thank them for the work that they do. They are the first port of call for all Victorians. Make no mistake that any victim of crime is one victim too many, but it is only through the work and the investment of the Allan Labor government that we ensure police have the tools they need to do their job. There is also, through Minister Erdogan in the other place and his investment, some $70 million-plus for victims of crime to ensure they have the supports and the compensation that they need. It is only an Allan Labor government that will continue to help victims of crime to get the support they need and hold those perpetrators to account.

Brad BATTIN (Berwick) (14:16): Home invasions have gone up by a staggering 146 per cent over the last 10 years under Labor. At the same, time there are nearly 1000 police vacancies and 43 ‍police stations with reduced hours or that are closed. Why has the minister failed to keep Victorians safe in their own homes?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Eureka can leave the chamber for an hour. At this rate, there will be no members left in the chamber by the end of question time.

Member for Eureka withdrew from chamber.

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Racing) (14:17): I remind members of the Made for More campaign funded by the Allan Labor government, which is about providing opportunities for more Victorians to put their hand up and serve as members of Victoria Police. Every fortnight we go to the academy, and it is double squads of 48 ‍new recruits graduating at the police academy and being deployed at stations right across the state. We have invested some $1 billion in new police infrastructure and new stations across the state. Operational decisions about the deployment of those police and the way in which they operate to keep vans on the road is a matter for the chief commissioner. We do not interfere in those matters under the police act, but we do make sure we support the chief commissioner in ensuring he has the resources and the tools he needs through legislation, infrastructure and people on the ground. But I do say again, for all Victorians, for those who want to make a decision: if you believe you are made for more, join Victoria Police, put your hand up and get in there and help support the community. So many more are doing that, with double squads graduating every fortnight at the academy.