An increased police presence will soon be felt in many busy regional and suburban areas across the state, as Victoria Police continues to recruit, train and deploy more than 3,000 additional officers by April 2022.
Victoria Police has today announced where 709 additional police officers and 25 Protective Services Officers (PSOs) will be deployed across Victoria over the 12 month period starting in May.
Training at the Academy is already underway with the new officers to be gradually rolled out to police stations and specialist areas by April 2020.
300 officers will be deployed to the frontline of 38 Police Service Areas and 24 specialist divisional units identified as having the highest need for services, such as the regional centres of Geelong, Ballarat, Morwell and Bairnsdale.
Suburban growth areas including Casey, Greater Dandenong, Hume and Melton Police Service Areas will also receive a resourcing boost.
A further 93 additional officers are being deployed to some of our specialist policing areas including Crime, Transit and Public Safety, State Emergency and Support, Intelligence and Covert Support, and Professional Standards commands, and the Legal Services Department.
207 family violence specialists will also be rolled out across every policing division in Victoria, further freeing up general duties police in those areas to focus on providing a highly visible, agile policing response in their community.
The family violence specialists will complete Victoria Police's transition to state-wide Family Violence Investigation Units (FVIUs) with dedicated detectives and intelligence practitioners embedded into the teams.
An additional 105 positions will be allocated to Victoria Police's Parental Leave Backfill Program, which commenced in 2018. By April 2020, there will be 208 positions dedicated to providing backfill to police officers and seven positions for PSOs taking maternity and paternity leave across the state.
A further four positions will also be allocated to the Leadership Capability Uplift to ensure that senior officers and employees are equipped with the capabilities to lead and provide a safe work environment for all employees.
This marks the second deployment allocation of the 2,729 new officers funded through the State Government's Community Safety Statement. In March 2018, an additional 825 officers were allocated under the Staff Allocation Model (SAM).
These officers are now policing in busy growth areas such as Wyndham, Melton, Geelong and Cardinia, working hard to prevent crime, lock up offenders and keep their communities safe.
This is the third time Victoria Police has used its SAM, which was developed in 2016 and further matured in 2018, to ensure that additional police are being deployed to the areas of highest need.
A number of measures of demand are taken into consideration by the SAM, such as calls for assistance, reported crime, event management and traffic incidents, and the time required to provide these services.
Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said:
"Every day and night police right across the state are working hard to keep people safe. We know that in order to do that we need to be visible in the community, with police out in vans providing a mobile and agile response to incidents that occur.
"It also means having expert teams in place that can provide a specialist capability to investigate complex crimes, gather intelligence and prevent harm in the community.
"This allocation is the second of 2,729 additional police funded through the Community Safety Statement. More than 1,000 additional police have been deployed to communities across Victoria in the past two years.
"With more police on the beat we have been able arrest hundreds of offenders daily, conduct more police checks in the community, and enforce breaches of bail and intervention orders in record numbers in order to keep victims safe."
"Rest assured we are never complacent. We will continue to monitor trends and emerging issues and police right across the state will continue to focus on ensuring people are safe and feel safe in their community.
Deployment decisions and announcements for the recruitment program are being made annually, allowing flexibility and response to changing police demand in the community.
The allocations of the 604 new police officers and 25 PSOs in work areas by Police Service Areas, Divisions and specialist units or commands are as follows:
EASTERN REGION - 101
ED1: Forest Hill Division (25)
PSA allocations:
• Whitehorse Police Service Area (8)
• Monash Police Service Area (4)
• Manningham Police Service Area (5)
Shared divisional resources (8):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (3)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (5)
ED2: Knox Division (18)
PSA allocations:
• Knox Police Service Area (3)
• Maroondah Police Service Area (1)
• Yarra Ranges Police Service Area (1)
Shared divisional resources (13):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (3)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (10)
ED3: Goulburn Valley Division (15)
PSA allocations:
• Shepparton Police Service Area (3)
Shared divisional resources (12):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (1)
• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (2)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (9)
ED4: Wangaratta Division (10)
Shared divisional resources (10):
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (10)
ED5: Morwell Division (18)
PSA allocations
• Baw Baw Police Service Area (2)
• Latrobe Police Service Area (4)
Shared divisional resources (12):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (1)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (11)
ED6: Bairnsdale Division (15)
PSA allocations:
• East Gippsland Police Service Area (2)
• Wellington Police Service Area (6)
Shared divisional resources (7):
• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (1)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (6)
WESTERN REGION - 110
WD1: Geelong Division (38)
PSA allocations:
• Geelong Police Service Area (21)
• Surf Coast Police Service Area (5)
Shared divisional resources (12):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (5)
• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (3)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (4)
WD2: Warrnambool Division (4)
PSA allocations:
• Warrnambool Police Service Area (2)
Shared divisional resources (2):
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (2)
WD3: Ballarat Division (37)
PSA allocations:
• Ballarat Police Service Area (15)
• Moorabool Police Service Area (10)
Shared divisional resources (12):
• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (1)
• Division Crime Scene Services (1)
• Divisional Highway Patrol (4)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (6)
WD4: Horsham Division (5)
Shared divisional resources (1):
• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (1)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (4)
WD5: Bendigo Division (13)
PSA allocations:
• Bendigo Police Service Area (6)
• Macedon Ranges Police Service Area (1)
Shared divisional resources (6):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (1)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (5)
WD6: Mildura Division (13)
PSA allocations:
• Mildura Police Service Area (2)
• Swan Hill Police Service Area (3)
Shared divisional resources (8):
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (8)
SOUTHERN METRO REGION - 128
SD1: Prahran Division (10)
PSA allocations:
• Port Phillip Police Service Area (3)
• Stonnington Police Service Area (4)
Shared divisional resources (3):
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (3)
SD2: Moorabbin Division (17)
PSA allocations:
• Kingston Police Service Area (2)
• Glen Eira Police Service Area (4)
Shared divisional resources (11):
• Divisional Crime Scene Services (1)
• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Investigation Unit (3)
• Divisional Highway Patrol (1)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (6)
SD3: Dandenong Division (91)
PSA allocations:
• Cardinia Police Service Area (3)
• Casey Police Service Area (36)
• Greater Dandenong Police Service Area (26)
Shared divisional resources (26):
• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Investigation Unit (2)
• Divisional Highway Patrol (3)
• Division Crime Investigation Unit (1)
• Divisional Crime Scene Services (1)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (19)
SD4: Frankston Division (10)
Shared divisional resources (10):
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (10)
NORTH WEST METRO REGION - 150
ND1: Melbourne Division (31)
PSA allocations:
• Melbourne East Police Service Area (10)
• Melbourne West Police Service Area (6)
• Yarra Police Service Area (2)
Shared divisional resources (13):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (3)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (10)
ND2: Westgate Division (10)
Shared divisional resources (10):
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (10)
ND3: Brimbank Division (28)
PSA allocations:
• Brimbank Police Service Area (5)
• Melton Police Service Area (7)
Shared divisional resources (16):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (2)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (14)
ND4: Fawkner Division (37)
PSA allocations:
• Hume Police Service Area (13)
• Moreland Police Service Area (9)
Shared divisional resources (15):
• Divisional Crime Scene Services (2)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (13)
ND5: Diamond Creek Division (44)
PSA allocations:
• Banyule Police Service Area (2)
• Darebin Police Service Area (11)
• Nillumbik Police Service Area (1)
• Whittlesea Police Service Area (3)
Shared divisional resources (27):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (3)
• Divisional Family Violence specialists (24)
FAMILY VIOLENCE SPECIALISTS
• Five of the 207 family violence specialist positions have been allocated to the Family Violence Taskforce.
• Family Violence Command is currently undertaking analysis to identify where the remaining 13 family violence specialist positions should be placed across the state.
SPECIALIST COMMANDS - 93 police and 25 PSOs
• Legal Services Department (30)
• Crime Command (17)
• Transit & Public Safety Command (14 police and 25 PSOs)
• State Emergency Support Command (11)
• Intelligence & Covert Support Command (11)
• Professional Standards Command (8)
• Forensic Services Department (1)
• Strategic Investment, Reporting & Audit Department (1)
Parental Leave Backfill Program - 105
Note: As part of this program resources allocated across all policing divisions and some specialist commands. These allocations are subject to change as resources are placed at locations that are most impacted by parental leave absences. The allocation of parental leave backfill positions is not published by Victoria Police due to the need for flexibility in delivering the program.
Leadership Capability Uplift - 4
