More front-line police officers will take to Melton streets this month.
Almost 240 additional police will be deployed across the North-West Metro region which takes in Melton, Wyndham, Maribyrnong and Whittlesea, as part of the first wave of 300 new police funded in last year’s state budget.
Melton and Caroline Springs will get an extra 16 front-line police as part of the deployment.
The crime investigation unit and the sexual offences and child abuse investigation team based in the Brimbank and Melton police services area will get an extra nine and five detectives respectively.
The extra police will be deployed to some of the state’s fastest-growing suburbs with the highest needs, based on a staffing allocation model developed by Victoria Police and the Police Association.
The roll-out will be supported by a fleet of 290 new vehicles launched last week by Police Minister Lisa Neville.
Ms Neville said new divisional vans, to hit the road in Melbourne’s west from this month, would support the biggest ever investment in front-line police members.
“The new divisional vans will ensure our police officers are kept safe on the road while they’re patrolling and protecting the Victorian community,” Ms Neville said.
“Expect to see bigger and more secure divisional vans hit the streets – set to support the hundreds of new police being rolled out across the state.”
She said it was hoped the new fleet would provide front-line police officers with better vantage points when they were patrolling the streets.
Existing security and safety features would be included in the new vehicles, including video monitoring and recording of detainees and two-way communication with detainees in the rear pod.
An additional 40 four-wheel drive vans, fitted with winches and bull bars, will be deployed to regional areas from mid-2018 to provide off-road driving capability.
Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt last year said that more police were “urgently required” in the Melton area.
“Our members in the Melton police service area have been desperately under-resourced for a significant period of time and they’re facing … challenges in a growth corridor,” Sergeant Gatt said.
At the time of the announcement of more frontline police, Sergeant Gatt said that while the allocation of extra uniform police officers would be beneficial, the additional support to the sexual offences and child abuse investigation team and criminal investigation unit would assist in reducing crime through investigative means.
