By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
A SPATE of seven break-ins at Grovedale last weekend has highlighted police resourcing issues still plaguing Geelong, according to South Barwon MP Andrew Katos.
He said the Labor State Government’s failure to commit to ongoing police officer training in the last budget would make matters worse.
The Government opened a “Pandora’s box” with its budget allocation of15 officers to the Bellarine Peninsula because it meant the police minister was directing the chief commissioner on where to station officers, Mr Katos said.
“Good luck to the Bellarine but we’ve never seen that done before. It’s up to government to provide the resourcing and funds and it’s at the discretion of the chief commissioner on where to allocate police.
“That decision is generally on the basis of crime statistics and where the hot spots are.”
The weekend break-ins continued a series of burglaries over several months at Grovedale, according to restaurateur Simon Parrott.
Mr Parrott said his Sandstone Cafe and Perrettis restaurant were among businesses in the area targeted over the past six months.
“They just smash in doors and they’re in and out very quickly. It seems they’re just looking for money.”
Mr Parrott said each burglary left damage bills of several hundred dollars.
Mr Katos said South Barwon needed additional police as a growth area.
“The Government says its new 400 custody officers are supposed to free up police from cell duty. Can they guarantee that 400 additional officers will return to front-line policing?
“There’s no training going on at the academy at the moment – it’s come to a standstill.
“The police service faces a high rate of attrition and the commitment is not keeping pace with officers leaving the force and no commitment to training extra officers.
“When we (the Coalition) were in government, we committed to 1900 additional officers but this Government can’t sit on its backside and do nothing.”
Police Minister Wade Noonan said Mr Katos lacked knowledge of police resourcing.
“The chief commissioner directs the specific allocation of police resources.
“What the Andrews Labor Government has delivered in its first budget is a record $2.5 billion for police for the next financial year.
“Four hundred police officers statewide will be able to return to the beat where they belong instead of babysitting crooks in police cells because the Government is introducing 400 custody officers to replace them.
“That equates to tens of thousands of extra shifts a year of frontline policing. Geelong will be one of the first towns to have these custody officers.
“Police will also increase their presence on the Bellarine and in Geelong with an extra 15 police.“
Mr Noonan said the Government would provide a grant of $30,000 for initiatives to emerge from a Bellarine Community Safety Reference Group.
The group would give the community a say on the use of police resources, he said.
