Thursday, 15 August 2019

In reply to  Ms SHING (Eastern Victoria) (6 June 2019)

Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services):

The Victorian Government has invested a record $2 billion in Victoria Police to provide them with the resources, personnel, infrastructure, laws, equipment, and technology to keep Victorians safe. This includes deploying an additional 3,135 police officers, on top of attrition, by 2022.

The Staffing Allocation Model (SAM) developed by Victoria Police, in consultation with the Police Association of Victoria, determines the location and deployment of police officers to areas of highest need. This approach is endorsed by the government to safeguard the operational independence of Victoria Police and to ensure resourcing is determined by policing expertise and evidence, rather than politics.

Constituents in your Eastern Victoria Region are covered by five policing divisions within two policing regions (Eastern Region and Southern Metro Region)—Knox Division, Morwell Division, Bairnsdale Division, Dandenong Division, and Frankston Division. As of 31 March 2019, these five divisions have had 280 full-time equivalent police officers deployed since November 2014. From May 2019 through to April 2020, 709 newly trained and recruited police officers will be deployed across the state. Under SAM, the Southern Metropolitan Region will receive an additional 152 general frontline and specialist officers by April 2020.

Already, 46 family violence specialist officers have been deployed within the Eastern Victoria Region. The upcoming allocation will add an additional 56 family violence specialist officers to service your constituents. The newly operational Morwell Forensic Hub is fully staffed with 11 forensic officers and one Victorian Public Service support staff member.