Final PCOs head to Victorian stations

THE Labor state government says it has delivered on its election promise to deploy 400 Police Custody Officers (PCOs) at police stations across Victoria, with the final class of PCOs graduating on Friday.

Labor says the number of police officers performing custody shifts at police station jails has dropped by more than 90 per cent at the 22 stations where PCOs are stationed.

This includes Geelong polices station, where PCOs have delivered more than 6,500 shifts since January 2016.

PCOs and Supervising PCOs manage prisoners in cells, support police, supervise offenders and transport them to and from court.

The 2015/16 budget committed $148.6 million to put PCOs in police stations in Melbourne and across regional Victoria.

Police Minister and Bellarine MP Lisa Neville welcomed the news that all PCOs were now in position.

“Our PCOs play a vital role in managing prisoners in police stations and they also free up more police so they can focus on catching criminals, reducing harm and keeping the Geelong and Bellarine communities safe,” she said.

Labor has committed to hire an extra 3,135 new frontline police on top of attrition over the coming years, and the first 300 police have been allocated.