Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Western Metropolitan Region

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (13:03): (627) My question is for the Minister for Police. When will Keilor Downs police station return to having 24-hour availability at the reception centre? Under this government, police stations across Victoria are cutting the hours that they are open to the public because the Allan government has allowed its force to become severely understaffed. My constituents in Keilor Downs and St Albans are deeply concerned about the closure of police station front desks to the public in the evening. Most crime is committed under darkness. Most criminals come out at night to steal cars and break into houses, like my colleague Ms Crozier experienced lately. Domestic violence takes place most of the time at night. The latest release of crime stats shows that Brimbank, in my constituency, has had an increase of 8 per cent in criminal activities. Local police stations must be open and accessible to the public at all times, especially in the dark and after hours. The station front desks need to be open to the public, and my constituents need to know when they will be open 24 hours again.