By Casey Neill
Dandenong police station is “stretched to the limit”, according to Police Association secretary Ron Iddles.
“Supervisors are having to make tough decisions about which jobs police should attend, decisions that are frustrating for the community at best and at worst have potentially fatal consequences,” he said.
Victoria Police data released earlier this month showed there were fewer police stationed in the Greater Dandenong police service area (PSA) in September this year than in November 2014.
“Policing is tough enough at the best of times,” Mr Iddles said in response.
“But when officers are stretched to the limit the already stressful nature of their job is compounded and can be damaging to individual officers.”
He congratulated the State Government for bringing forward its commitment to recruit 406 additional police.
“Still, additional officers are required to keep up with population growth,” Mr Iddles said.
“But, to this end, we are pleased to be in constructive dialogue with the Police Minister and Victoria Police about arriving at a solution to ensure the consistent delivery of extra police to areas most in need over the longer term that keeps pace with projected increases in population.”
Southern Metropolitan Region Division Three officer in charge Superintendent Paul Hollowood said the number of police across Greater Dandenong was constantly fluctuating.
“Members are allocated to the division so that they can be moved around the Cardinia, Casey and Greater Dandenong Police Service Areas based on the highest need,” he said.
“We also occasionally receive probationary constables who are still in the academy as part of their training, as well as freshly graduated constables which often add to our numbers for periods of time.”
Insp Hollowood said Dandenong police station had recently welcomed 20 police custody officers.
“This has allowed sworn police members, who were doing these duties, to return to operational duties,” he said.
“Some of the released members have been embedded into the newly-formed Frontline Tactical Unit, which is a rapid response unit designed to address public order and volume crime issues.
“We have also recently introduced resources from the Operational Response Unit and State Highway Patrol.
“You will see an increased visible police presence in those areas.
“These are just some of the many initiatives we have happening in the area to improve safety outcomes.”
