Chief Commissioner and government must get serious on police resources

Yesterday, the Chief Commissioner announced a new plan to tackle street crime, but failed to address the critical issue of police resources.

The Chief Commissioner has finally conceded that there is a problem on our streets and in response, has announced a new strategy to deal with the growing rates of crime and violence that have emerged in our communities, under her watch.

Recognising that the problem exists is a stark admission by the government and the Chief Commissioner that the community is indeed suffering because of inadequate police resources. 

However, under the new strategy, the Chief Commissioner has pledged to tackle growing crime, only by stretching what is already a severely under-resourced and burnt-out police force. 

Members cannot be expected to work indefinitely on overtime to fill the gaps. The Chief Commissioner needs to critically evaluate whether many of its administrative roles can be permanently deployed into operational policing rather than simply establishing taskforces to deal with hot spots, robbing communities of their local police.

For the safety of the community and the health and well-being of our members, we need a significant increase in police resources. Without this, yesterday’s announcement is simply an exercise in smoke and mirrors rather than a committed attempt to restore safety on our streets.

The Police Association will keep the Chief Commissioner and Premier Brumby honest to ensure this happens.

  Bruce McKenzie

Assistant Secretary