Tuesday, 14 November 2023

Police resources

Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:33): (589) My adjournment tonight is for the Minister for Police, and the action I seek is for the minister to rule out further cuts to police staffing and advise when full policing services will be returned. In my electorate police stations in Forest Hill and also in Greensborough, in Eltham and in Boronia are being forced to reduce their coverage – that is, hours open to the public – because of police officer vacancies. The police station in Mount Waverley will effectively close, with no reception services and residents being directed to the nearest 24-hour station. The minister must explain to the community why 43 stations will be forced to operate with reduced hours because there are not enough police officers to serve our community. As the Shadow Minister for Police in the other place has said, ‘Victorian communities are being punished for Labor’s incompetence.’ There is great concern within the community about public accessibility to police services, and rightly so. This is particularly at a time when there are heightened concerns for community safety, so I ask the minister: when will full policing services be restored across our state?