By Laura Michell
Hume residents calling police about non-urgent crimes, such as noise complaints and property damage, will be among the first in the state to trial a new police assistance phone line.
In the coming months, Hume, Brimbank and Ballarat residents who call triple-0 and local police stations with an inquiry may be transferred to the assistance line at the discretion of the officer taking the call.
The caller will be informed about the service before being transferred.
The Police Assistance Line will be available to all Victorians from July 1.
Police said the assistance line will take reports or give advice on non-urgent crimes and events, where direct police attendance is not time critical, including burglaries, thefts, property damage and neighbourhood disputes.
Calls will be answered and triaged by a contact centre in Ballarat. During the trial, the contact centre will be staffed by civilians under the supervision of police.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Grainger said the assistance line would improve the ability of police to respond to non-urgent calls.
He said the service would change the way in which police prioritise and respond to urgent and non-urgent matters.
“We know that almost 30 per cent of calls to triple-0 are for non-urgent matters and the Police Assistance Line is expected to divert some of these calls,” Assistant Commissioner Grainger said.
“This will reduce the amount of time police spend on administration, allowing them to spend more time focused on improving community safety.”
