Police boost for Casey

By Bridget Cook
CASEY residents can expect to see more police officers patrolling the streets from next month, with Victoria Police announcing more officers for the area.
On Monday, Victoria Police allocated four additional police positions for operational general duties in the Casey Police Service Area (PSA) for 2011-12.
The boost to frontline numbers is part of a total of 400 additional police being allocated across Victoria during the rest of the financial year.
A total of 125 general duties positions to PSAs across the state will be rolled out by the end of December and the remaining 275 positions, which will include supervisor and specialist roles such as detectives and highway patrol members, will progressively be rolled out during the rest of the financial year.
The additional police officers are part of a State Government’s commitment to recruit an extra 1700 police by November 2014.
Acting Chief Commissioner Ken Lay said Victorians would start to see the additional police members in their communities from the end of October.
“We’re in a great situation, where we’ve seen an increase in the number of recruits going through the Victoria Police Academy over the past 12 months, and with these kind of numbers, we need to make sure we’re getting our graduates out as quickly as possible into the community,” he said.
“We’ve had a good look at where these 125 operational general duties positions should be placed – factoring in population size in growing suburban and large regional areas, as well as areas facing a high operational demand, current crime levels, community perceptions and emerging trends.
“Current police officers and local communities will benefit from these additional numbers – providing police where they are most needed in the state and helping to tackle local crime issues, such as property damage and assaults, and road safety issues.”