Police numbers
Ms MAXWELL (Northern Victoria) (11:55): My question is to the Minister for Training and Skills and Minister for Higher Education, for the Minister for Police in the other place. Reports of unpublished government modelling suggest the need for 1500 additional police over the next four years, backed up by concerns from a police survey that staff are being taken from core shifts and patrols and not attending jobs and reported crimes cannot be followed up. Recently I received a complaint from a constituent in Seymour who pressed their duress alarm at work and waited an hour for police to respond. Just this week Wangaratta and Wodonga stations had 51 officers on leave and only six officers temporarily deployed as backfill. The budget includes provision for 500 additional police, and so my question is: what is the modelling for staffing needs in Northern Victoria and how many of the 500 announced in the budget will be allocated to Northern Victoria specifically?
Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education) (11:56): I thank Ms Maxwell for her question, a question to the Minister for Police, and I will refer the matter to Minister Neville for her response.
Ms MAXWELL (Northern Victoria) (11:56): Thank you, Minister. Police union representative Wayne Gatt said:
In policing we are late or never come all the time … because we don’t measure it, no one knows.
This concern was raised back in 2011, more than a decade ago, by the former deputy commissioner Bob Falconer. So my supplementary question is: more than 10 years on, will the government initiate public reporting of Victoria Police response times so we can get a transparent understanding of this key indicator measured against the police resources allocated in successive budgets?
Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education) (11:57): I thank the member for her supplementary question. This is a matter in terms of staffing levels of police, and it will be referred to the Minister for Police for a response, as per standing orders.