Geelong will receive 58 more police officers following a “record” state government announcement this week.
The Geelong Division will receive 27 general officers with 22 to go to Geelong Police Service Area (PSA) and five to the Surf Coast (PSA).
The two PSAs will share in an additional 31 specialist police officers, including eight highway patrol officers, three Crime Investigation Unit officers, 18 Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Team officers and two Crime Scene Services officers.
Victoria Police will deploy 788 police and 25 Protective Services Officers (PSOs) across the state over 12 months beginning in May.
The boost was the biggest in Victoria Police’s 167-year history according to Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent, with regional Victoria to receive more than 350 officers from May 2020.
“I know the challenges faced by our rural police, so these additional numbers will be a welcome relief,” he said.
“The additional numbers will assist our officers tackle key issues we face in rural areas such as family violence, drugs, road trauma and natural disasters.
“It also means more police on the beat than ever before, who will be working around the clock to protect the community, prevent crime and hold offenders to account.”
The announcement was in addition to hundreds of extra frontline officers and family violence, crime investigation, highway patrol, and sexual offences and child abuse specialists over the past two years, DC Nugent said.
“Our unwavering focus remains on tackling high-harm offending which can often have traumatic and life-changing consequences for victims.
“The extra resources will also give police more time to focus on reducing crime that causes wide-spread harm across the community, such as drugs related offences.
DC Nugent said police considered factors such as reported crime, event management and traffic incidents, and the time required to provide these services when allocating new resources.
