By Cam Lucadou-Wells
CASEY’S frontline police – already at “breaking point” – are being redeployed to “baby sit” custody prisoners in Narre Warren police station.
Victoria Police confirmed the cells at the station were opened between 25-28 August to house an overflow of prisoners.
Opposition police spokesman Edward O’Donohue said the justice system in Casey was in “crisis”.
He cited trialled cuts to Endeavour Hills police station’s opening hours as well as “local police forced to baby sit criminals at Narre Warren police cells as a result of prison overcrowding”.
Despite Casey’s crime rate soaring by 19 per cent in the past year, Mr O’Donohue said there were two fewer full-time-equivalent police positions in the service area since November 2014.
“The Casey community is living in fear with carjackings, home invasions and gang violence becoming all too common. Daniel Andrews needs to get his priorities right and bring this crisis under control.”
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police officers from Casey police service area or its divisions were supervising the cells, because there were no custody officers gazetted to the station.
“We always ensure that we have appropriate police numbers to properly look after people in police care or custody, and there is no impact on police service delivery to the community.”
Prisoners are housed in cells for arrests, remands as well as appearances at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court.
The police spokeswoman said the opening of cells at Narre Warren could be triggered by a high number of arrests as a part of a targeted operation.
“Contingencies are put in place at these times and can involve opening cells in stations that do not routinely hold prisoners and rostering additional police to ensure safe custody supervision.”
Police Minister Lisa Neville said there was added pressure on police cells due to more than 150 arrests for violent crime as part of Operation Cosmas.
“We know many parts of the state need more frontline police – and that’s why we’re funding more frontline police.”
A program of 400 custody officers rolled out to 22 stations to free up frontline police was being “fast-tracked”, she said.
“We will have enough custody officers to service not only current police cells, but also cater for growth.
“These deployments are a matter for Victoria Police.”
Police Association secretary Ron Iddles said the trial closure of Endeavour Hills station’s front counter on weekend nights underlined the need for more police.
“Victoria Police is making service decisions around response units and station hours as if it is an either or situation when in actual fact, the community deserves both.”
Mr Iddles said family violence victims regarded their local police station as a safe sanctuary, and people who believed they were followed by carjackers were recently advised to drive to their nearest police station.
He said while there were fewer inquiries on a weekend, it didn’t mean those inquiries were less “deserved of an immediate police response”.
He feared diverted calls from Endeavour Hills would burden Narre Warren police officers “also working at capacity”.
“Police right across the City of Casey are telling us that they are at breaking point, such is the burden they are forced to endure due to under-resourcing.
“Members are highly stressed and morale is extremely low. The longer this situation continues, more police will continue to fall over”.
Ms Neville said the Endeavour Hills trial was about getting “more police on the road” to respond to calls and proactively prevent crime.
