Tim Pallas, Member for Werribee, has welcomed the announcement by the Andrews Labor Government to introduce legislation creating tough new offences for carjacking and home invasion.

Developed in consultation with Victoria Police, the legislation includes new penalties and statutory minimum sentences for aggravated carjacking and aggravated home invasion. This will give police the laws they need to keep the local community safe.

People have the right to feel safe in their homes and in their cars.  This is why the Andrews Labor Government is taking decisive action to deal with crime.

The Government is well aware of the issues facing communities in Wyndham and Melbourne’s West, which is why police numbers have continued to increase under this Government – including frontline police in Wyndham.

Since being elected in November 2014, the Labor Government has funded 1156 police personnel to keep Victorians safe, including the recruitment of 400 custody officers to guard prisoners and get police officers back on the beat.

The Coalition in their 4 year term of government, failed to fund a single additional police officer. In fact, every additional sworn police officer in the last 15 years has been funded by a Labor Government.

Soon an additional 300 frontline police will be recruited, trained and deployed to growth areas. The Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton has stated that the western suburbs will receive additional officers as part of that roll-out.

Decisions regarding the distribution and location of police and police stations are made independently by the Chief Commissioner of Police.

Recent taskforces such as Operation Cosmas and Operation Prevalent have been setup to address precisely these issues, with officers making 160 arrests since the Operations commenced. The Government takes community safety incredibly seriously and has invested in a corresponding manner.

On a recent visit to Werribee Police Station, Premier Daniel Andrews joined Minister for Police Lisa Neville and Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton to announce the tender process for Victoria Police’s technology revolution.

The Andrews Labor Government has also invested $227 million in police technology, to help free up our frontline police so they’re spending less time on administrative duties, and more time fighting crime in our communities.

Locally, the development of the Lighting Station Place Project was made possible by the Andrews Labor Government’s $5.8 million Public Safety Infrastructure Fund – an excellent crime prevention initiative.

These tough new laws are about protecting the community and keeping Victorians safe.

Quotes attributable to Tim Pallas, Member for Werribee

Carjackings and home invasions are crimes that traumatise victims and have no place in our society, and people have the right to feel safe in their homes and in their cars, which is why the Andrews Labor Government is taking decisive action.

The Labor Government is well aware of the issues facing communities in Wyndham and Melbourne’s West, which is why we are continuing to increase police numbers – including right here in Wyndham.

While crime rates and community policing responses do not occur or abate overnight, and reflect long term patterns of investment and social issues, we are taking real action that will deliver long term progress.