Melbourne’s north west and southern suburbs will soon see another injection of police in the community, with the latest deployment numbers announced today.
Westgate Division, which includes Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong and Wyndham Police Service Areas, will receive the lion’s share for the regions, with 44 more police set to be stationed in the area.
Dandenong Division, which includes Casey, Cardinia and Greater Dandenong Police Service Areas, will see 38 officers deployed as part of this allocation.
In the state’s east, Knox Division will have 14 police allocated to the Yarra Ranges and Knox Police Service Areas, and in the west, Ballarat will receive 11 for the Pyreness and Moorabool areas.
Victoria Police’s specialist commands, such as Transit and Public Safety and Intelligence and Covert Support Command, will receive 167 police.
The Professional Standards Command will dedicate 11 new staff to investigating police who are victims or perpetrators of family violence, while six police will be tasked to tackling cyber crime in Victoria Police’s Crime Command.
In total, 396 police will be deployed across the state over the next 12 months, with the officers already in training at the Academy and headed for stations from October.
This is the final deployment of 2,729 new officers since 2018 as funded through the State Government’s Community Safety Statement.
In 2018, 825 officers were assigned across the state while 2019 saw the allocation of an additional 720 officers. Last year, 788 police were deployed.
Victoria Police has used its Staff Allocation Model (SAM) in recent years to allocate new resources, taking in factors such as calls for assistance, reported crime, event management and the time required to provide these services. Deployments under the SAM have focused on frontline policing locations as well as resources deployed to specialist and support areas.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said:
“Today is a milestone for the biggest recruitment drive in Victoria Police’s history, with the last of the 2,729 additional officers now in training at the Academy in preparation for being deployed to many areas across the state in the coming 12 months.
“In particular, this allocation will see 15 more police going to our Professional Standards Command. Of those, 11 officers will be responsible for developing a specialised unit dedicated to investigating family violence committed by Victoria Police employees. Some of these resources will also be there to support our complainants and victims.
“Our Crime Command will dedicate six new police to a new division set up to tackle cyber crime, as technology-enabled crime has rapidly become one of the greatest threats to community safety.
“In total, with 396 more officers set to be deployed soon across 20 Police Service Areas, 21 specialist divisional units and 14 specialist commands, we’ll have a greater community presence.
“Since 2018, our additional police have been deployed to the areas of greatest need using the Staff Allocation Model, allowing us to put more police out on patrol, responding where and when needed in the community, and in dedicated areas such as family violence, transit safety, highway patrol, and sexual offences and child abuse teams.”
The allocations of the 396 new police officers are as follows:
EASTERN REGION – 18
ED2: Knox Division (14)
PSA allocations (13):
• Knox Police Service Area (5)
• Yarra Ranges Police Service Area (8)
Shared divisional resources (1):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (1)
ED3: Goulburn Valley Division (1)
Shared divisional resources (1):
• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Teams (1)
ED6: Bairnsdale Division (3)
PSA allocations (1):
• Wellington Police Service Area (1)
Shared divisional resources (2):
• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (2) WESTERN REGION – 11
WD3: Ballarat Division (11)
PSA allocations (5):
• Pyreness Police Service Area (2)
• Moorabool Police Service Area (3)
Shared divisional resources (6):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (1)
• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Teams (4)
• Divisional Intelligence Unit (1)
SOUTHERN METRO REGION – 82
SD1: Prahran Division (1)
Shared divisional resources (1):
• Divisional Reliever (1)
SD2: Moorabbin Division (26)
PSA allocations (25):
• Glen Eira Police Service Area (1)
• Kingston Police Service Area (24)
Shared divisional resources (1):
• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Teams (1)
SD3: Dandenong Division (38)
PSA allocations (20):
• Casey Police Service Area (5)
• Cardinia Police Service Area (6)
• Greater Dandenong Police Service Area (9)
Shared divisional resources (18):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (10)
• Divisional Crime Scene Services (5)
• Divisional Reliever (3)
SD4: Frankston Division (17)
PSA allocations (17):
• Mornington Peninsula Police Service Area (17)
NORTH WEST METRO REGION – 118
ND1: Melbourne Division (26)
PSA allocations (10):
• Melbourne West Police Service Area (10)
Shared divisional resources (16):
• Divisional Crime Investigation Unit (6)
• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Teams (6)
• Divisional Family Violence Investigation Units (1)
• Divisional Specialist Operations Planning (3)
ND2: Westgate Division (44)
PSA allocations (41):
• Hobsons Bay Police service Area (11)
• Maribyrnong Police Service Area (11)
• Wyndham Police Service Area (19)
Shared divisional resources (3):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (3)
ND3: Brimbank Division (25)
PSA allocations (13):
• Brimbank Police Service Area (4)
• Melton Police Service Area (9)
Shared divisional resources (12):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (5)
• Divisional Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Teams (1)
• Divisional Crime Scene Services (6)
ND5: Diamond Creek Division (23)
PSA allocations (19):
• Banyule Police Service Area (1)
• Darebin Police Service Area (15)
• Whittlesea Police Service Area (3)
Shared divisional resources (4):
• Divisional Highway Patrol (3)
• Divisional Crime Scene Services (1)
SPECIALIST COMMANDS – 167 POLICE
• Crime Command (8)
• Counter Terrorism Command (4)
• Family Violence Command (1)
• Gender Equality & Inclusion Command (4)
• Information, Systems and Security Command (10)
• Intelligence & Covert Support Command (14)
• Legal Services Department (40)
• People Development Command (12 + 13 fixed term)
• Professional Standards Command (15)
• Public Safety & Security Command (1)
• Road Policing Command (5)
• Service Delivery Transformation Command (6)
• State Emergency Support Command (13)
• Transit & Public Safety Command (21)
