By CASEY NEILL
SPRINGVALE Police Station had to close its doors due to insufficient officer numbers, the Opposition has claimed in Parliament.
But Victoria Police spokeswoman Danielle Fleeton says “unplanned leave” closed the station’s counter service overnight from the evening of Tuesday 8 March.
“At this time, there was a greater need to have police out on the road where they are most needed rather than inside the station,” she said.
“Community members were directed to the nearest 24-hour station in Dandenong – a five-minute drive – from 11pm to make face-to-face inquiries.”
But Opposition police spokesman and Eastern Victoria Region MP Edward O’Donoghue the situation reflected the “enormous pressure that police in the south-east are under”.
“I would suggest this is almost, or may be, unprecedented,” he said.
“The most recent police statistics show that crime is up and the most recent police statistics show that police numbers are down.
“The government has failed to provide the resources that police require.”
Mr O’Donoghue said crime statistics showed a 9.4 per cent increase in crime in Springvale for the year to September 2015, and that the figure was up more than 20 per cent on the 2010/11 year.
Police Association Victoria secretary Ron Iddles said the situation was unacceptable.
“The public deserves better,” he said.
“It’s an indictment on the current state of wafer-thin frontline police resources that we are seeing some 24-hour police stations closing their doors for often extended periods.
“The obvious solution is to boost police numbers in order to keep pace with our state’s booming population growth.”
Mr Iddles said Victoria’s population was growing by more than 100,000 people every year.
“As long as police numbers remain stagnant, sadly, we will see more and more instances of supposedly 24-hour police stations closing their doors,” he said.
State Government spokesman Kosta Pandos said the Chief Commissioner directed the specific allocation of police resources based on operational need “and we will continue to consult closely with Victoria Police to ensure they are appropriately resourced”.
“We’ve funded an extra 700 police personnel and delivered a record $2.5 billion to Victoria Police to help keep our community safe, which is more than the previous Coalition Government ever did,” he said.
