By Laura Michell
More frontline police officers will be on the beat in Hume and Whittlesea over the next 12 months.
Victoria Police and the state government have announced 13 new officers for Hume and three officers for Whittlesea, as part of a deployment of 709 additional police officers across the state.
The Fawkner police division, which includes Hume and Moreland, will also receive 13 family violence specialists and two crime scene services officers.
The Diamond Creek division, taking in Whittlesea, Banyule, Darebin and Nillumbik, will share three additional highway patrol officers and 24 family violence specialists.
The new officers will be deployed by April 2020.
Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said the additional officers had been allocated to areas with the highest need for services.
“Every day and night, police right across the state are working hard to keep people safe. We know that in order to do that, we need to be visible in the community,” he said.
“It also means having expert teams in place that can provide a specialist capability to investigate complex crimes, gather intelligence and prevent harm in the community.”
Police Minister Lisa Neville said the deployment of more family violence specialists would provide a more effective response to family violence.
Latest Crime Statistics Agency Data reveals there were 3620 family violence incidents reported to Hume police between January and December 2018 – an increase if 17.3 per cent from January-December 2017.
In Whittlesea, 3232 incidents were reported, up 5.2 per cent from 3017 between January-December 2017.
“Family violence is Victoria’s number one law and order issue, which is why we’re training even more officers with the skills they need to respond to family violence,” Ms Neville said.
