Thursday, 31 July 2025

Prahran police station

Rachel WESTAWAY (Prahran) (17:24): (1235) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Police, and the action I seek is for the minister to provide a comprehensive report on police staffing and community safety measures at Prahran police station. In the minister’s response on 19 June to my constituency question from 13 May the minister claimed that there were 51 new police officers that have been assigned to the Prahran police division. However, community feedback consistently indicates Prahran police station is operating with a significant shortfall, potentially 20 officers below operational requirements. This directly impacts police services and the safety of visitors and residents in my electorate.

My very engaged electorate are crying out for transparency because they simply do not feel they are being supported by the Allan Labor government. Such a report should include the actual net staffing position at Prahran police station, with detailed current vacancies and weekly understaffed shifts. The report should also contain annual attrition data for Prahran division, covering resignations, retirements and redeployments, along with a public timeline for achieving full operational staffing levels.

Additionally, the report should address Chapel Street CCTV effectiveness, as the Allan Labor government has deployed mobile CCTV units as part of state community safety infrastructure yet completely lacks transparency about their performance. The report should detail specific crime detection numbers, measurable deterrence data, total program costs and plans for network expansion. This information is essential for proper oversight of state expenditure on community safety technology. When Prahran police station operates understaffed, response times to emergency calls increase, impacting Victoria Police’s service delivery obligations. When CCTV effectiveness remains unmeasured, Victorians cannot assess value from state infrastructure investments. The pattern of chronic underinvestment in frontline policing, followed by statistical funny business and weasel words by the government that mask ongoing problems, undermines public confidence in the police. Every understaffed shift, every delayed response and every crime that could have been prevented with proper resources affect real families and businesses in Prahran.

I am under no illusion that Prahran is a marginal seat. I represent constituents that are Labor supporters and I work for them too. This is a total disregard for my electorate, and the lack of transparency in police data is absolutely outrageous. The minister has the authority to direct Victoria Police to compile and release this operational data. Transparency in police staffing and technology effectiveness is fundamental to accountable government and effective state service delivery. Such a report would enable proper parliamentary oversight of state police services, ensure taxpayer value for community safety investments and provide the Prahran community, which I am proud to represent, with honest information about resources protecting their safety.