Tuesday, 15 October 2019

In reply to  Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (27 August 2019)

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

Protective Services Officers (PSOs) are deployed at Broadmeadows Railway Station every night, from 6pm until the last train. PSOs will also be deployed to Broadmeadows Railway Station between 3.30pm and 4.00pm to facilitate safe passage of students. Local police have also been engaging with Penola Catholic College and the school has been provided with a police contact, should any issues arise.

In addition to PSO presence, Victoria Police is conducting ‘Operation Visible,’ which covers the wider Broadmeadows High Risk Community Locations. As a part of this operation, police have been directed to patrol Broadmeadows Railway Station during the hours of 3.00pm and 4.00pm. Local police units are also tasked to attend this area if they are not otherwise engaged.

The Member for Broadmeadows, Frank McGuire MP has been a strong advocate on behalf of his constituents in relation to these matters and I appreciate him bringing them to the attention of Victoria Police to inform their tasking decisions.

As a part of the Community Safety Statement 2017, Victoria Police is recruiting an additional 100 PSOs over the next four years to form mobile squads to tackle hotspots across the public transport network. Half of these new PSOs have already been deployed and additional PSOs are in training to meet this commitment.

The additional PSOs allow Transit Safety Division to provide a visible policing presence at railway stations and on trains daily in the Melbourne CBD. These PSOs continue to provide intelligence-led patrols through the day and at night. Transit Safety Division will continue to deploy PSOs across the public transport system in a manner that is intelligence led and evidence based.