Melbourne’s western suburbs will see more police on the streets, with an additional 42 officers above attrition due to hit the beat over the next year as the Andrews Labor Government continues to deliver the biggest boost to police resources in history.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Police Lisa Neville today joined Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton to announce the allocation of the next 825 new police – part of the biggest recruitment effort in Victoria Police’s 165 year history.

Wyndham Members of Parliament Tim Pallas, Telmo Languiller and Jill Hennessy today welcomed the 42 new police officers allocated to the Westgate Division, saying it comes on top of the 41 officers allocated last year.

From May, this next allocation of the Labor Government funded 3135 new police will start to be deployed to communities across Victoria, with all new police officers on the beat by April next year.

The new police officers have been allocated to communities based on Victoria Police’s Staffing Allocation Model, which examines key data to ensure local communities have the police they need.

As part of these new police officers allocated, 13 officers will be allocated to the Wyndham, Maribyrnong, and Hobsons Bay areas to boost investigation and response resources. This means there will be more investigators to detect and disrupt crime in our communities.

The new police officers include an extra 9 police allocated to police stations in the Westgate Division as specialist family violence roles, which frees up other police to deal with other crime. It also includes parental leave backfill positions.

Family violence can take up to 60 per cent of police time on shift, with officers attending a family violence incident every seven minutes. These dedicated resources will be a huge benefit to local stations.

The resourcing boost is part of the Labor Government’s Community Safety Statement, which is underpinned by a record $2 billion investment that is giving police the resources, powers and laws it needs to keep Victoria safe. Thanks to this boost, Victorians are starting to see more police on the street, more proactive patrols and resources to target crime.

The record investment in police and community safety is already making a difference, with crime decreasing for two consecutive quarters – with the most recent data from the independent crime statistics agency showing the biggest drop in the crime rate in more than 10 years.

Quotes attributable to Member for Werribee Tim Pallas

“The safety of our local community is key and we’ve listened to police to give them everything they need – the resources, the technology and the powers – to keep the community safe.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Altona District Jill Hennessy

“Our western suburbs communities can expect to see more police on the street, more proactive patrols and stronger enforcement over the next 12 months.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Tarneit Telmo Languiller

“This is another major community safety boost for Melbourne’s western suburbs with an extra 42 officers to hit the beat over the next year as part of our record funding for police.”