By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Off-duty police have taken a “big step” to rally against staff shortages in the Geelong region, according to their union.
About 200 people attended the Johnstone Park rally on Tuesday.
Police Association secretary Ron Iddles said communities were “being short-changed by wafer-thin frontline police numbers at a time when they need all the support they can get”.
“Geelong is a community under stress caused by economic changes and rapid population growth. It does not need the extra and unnecessary stress of being under-policed.
“Despite the fact that 1300 extra police positions have been created in Victoria since 2010, the number of first-response police officers attached to police stations in greater Geelong has actually decreased since this time.
“To the people of Geelong this means less security, more vulnerability at a time when the city is in transition, a time when they need encouragement, not neglect.
“It means fewer patrols, on occasions none at all. The reassuring presence of a marked police vehicle or an officer on the street is becoming rarer and rarer in Greater Geelong.”
Mr Iddles said police also suffered as they were continually asked to do more with less.
“We’re gravely concerned about the impact on our frontline members. Stress levels are high, causing frustration to build, sick leave is more frequent, placing more pressure on fewer police.
“The vicious cycle continues.”
The rally condemned plans to turn Bellarine Peninsula stations into “virtual shop-fronts, resulting in severely weakened police presence”.
State Government hit back at the “alarmist claims” on local resources.
A spokesman said the Coalition Government had given the region about 60 additional police.
“The Government is delivering on its commitment to build a new $15.6 million 24-hour police station in Waurn Ponds, providing a permanent police presence south of the Barwon River.
“This new police station will see numbers in Geelong and Surf Coast increase by around 90 by the end of year.”
The spokesperson said the Government had delivered Victoria “the largest crime fighting budget in history” for 2014/2015.
Police funding would increase to $2.4 billion, up 6.7 per cent on the previous year.
The spokesperson said the chief commissioner was responsible for allocating resources.
The commissioner had increased staff at divisional levels, so comparing staffing in stations “portrays an inaccurate and misleading picture of police numbers within police service areas”, the spokesperson said.
