By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
VICTORIA’s Police Minister has defended the government’s allocation of cop numbers in Casey and poured cold water on calls for a police station in Clyde.
Following a 60 per cent increase in the total number of criminal offences in Clyde, according to the latest Crime Statistics Agency report, Shadow Police Minister Edward O’Donohue last week reignited calls for a police station in the suburb.
According to the latest Crime Statistics Agency report released last month, the total number of recorded offences has risen from 273 in 2013-’14, to 447 a year later.
That represents a 63.7 per cent rise.
Mr O’Donohue said Clyde’s rapid population growth in the last few years had reinforced the case for a police station in the area.
But a spokesperson for Police Minister Wade Noonan said the Chief Commissioner “directs the specific allocation of police resources based on operational need.”
“Mr O’Donohue should know this and his comments show up his lack of knowledge about police resourcing,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also indicated Clyde’s crime-rate increase was from a small sample size and as a result was a subject to greater fluctuation.
They also said the increase reflected the introduction of new offences – such as parole, bail and family violence orders – rather than an increase in the number of existing offences.
Mr O’Donohue had also questioned whether additional police would be funded for in Melbourne’s south-east under the new government, noting the recent State Budget had only committed to additional police in Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula, outside its proposed custody officer program.
In response Mr Noonan’s spokesperson cited the government’s recent Budget which “gave Victoria Police a record $2.5 billion for the next financial year.”
Mr Noonan said the government would redeploy 400 police officers state-wide back to the beat by introducing custody officers to “babysit crooks in police cells”.
“The previous Labor Government also funded 1966 additional police officers, which the Coalition is pretending is its policy,” he said.
“The government will continue to consult with Victoria Police in relation to appropriate resourcing for the Casey region.”
