By Jessica Micallef
Nine extra police officers will be added across the Macedon Ranges as part of a state government plan to deploy more than 3000 new officers across Victoria by April 2022.
The nine officers will be among 788 additional police and 25 protective service officers to be deployed across Victoria over 12 months, starting from May.
The Bendigo police service area which covers the Macedon Ranges, Goldfields and Campaspe areas will share 14 divisional officers including one highway patrol officer and five criminal investigation officers.
No additional officers were allocated to Hume.
Victoria Police said several factors were taken into consideration when allocating new police officers to stations, including calls for assistance, reported crime, event management, traffic incidents and the time required to provide these services.
Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said the additional police officers would be a welcome relief.
“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,” he said.
“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 influx of officers in regional areas will also assist us in enhancing or ability to provide immediate assistance when state disasters occur, such as bushfires or floods.”
Police and Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said the rollout of additional officers included an extra 208 officers who will go into specialists roles such as state emergency support, road policing and family violence.
“Our record investment is delivering more police officers out on the streets, helping police to relentlessly focus on driving down the crime rate across our state and continue to keep out communities safer for years to come,” she said.
Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas said the nine extra officers were a “major boost” for the area.
“These police will be out in the community protecting and serving residents to reduce crime, backed by the resources they need to target and prevent burglaries, violent crime and family violence.”
