Geelong and Surf Coast to get more police

THE Geelong region will get 58 extra police from May onwards, according to the latest allocation of police resources.

The Geelong and Surf Coast Police Service Areas (PSAs) will get 22 and five police, respectively.

These two PSAs fall within the Western Region’s Geelong Division, which will also see another 31 officers with roles to be shared across the division – eight in the highway patrol, three in the crime investigation unit, 18 in the sexual offences and child abuse teams, and two in crime scene services.

The Western Region will also receive 12 of the 48 new positions allocated to the Regional Crime Teams across the state. These positions will free up general duty resources by investigating complex networked offending within Victoria.

Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said last week’s announcement represented the biggest injection of regional officers in Victoria Police’s 167-year history, with regional Victoria set to receive more than 350 frontline officers.

“This is in addition to hundreds of frontline officers and dedicated family violence, crime investigation, highway patrol, and sexual offences and child abuse specialists already rolled out over the past two years.

“I know the challenges faced by our rural police, so these additional numbers will be a welcome relief.

“The additional numbers will assist our officers tackle key issues we face in rural areas such as family violence, drugs, road trauma and natural disasters.

“It also means more police on the beat than ever before, who will be working around the clock to protect the community, prevent crime and hold offenders to account.

“Our unwavering focus remains on tackling high harm offending which can often have traumatic and life-changing consequences for victims.

“The extra resources will also give police more time to focus on reducing crime that causes wide-spread harm across the community, such as drugs related offences.

“The influx of officers in regional areas will also assist us in enhancing our ability to provide immediate assistance when state disasters occur, such as bushfires or floods.”