Police boundary change for emergency

By Kath Gannaway and Tania MartinBy Kath Gannaway andTania Martin
Five existing regions have been realigned into four and these changes will come into effect on 1 July.
South Metropolitan Region takes in Dandenong Division and covers Cardinia, Casey and Greater Dandenong municipalities with headquarters located at Dandenong.
The other regions are Eastern Region, North-West Metro Region and Western Region.
Police say the alterations will significantly enhance their emergency management capabilities, aligning with other government agencies such as the Department of Human Services.
Crime rates, projected population growth and the number of police employees in each location were taken into account in determining the new boundaries.
Superintendent Peter Bull, project manager of the Regional Boundaries Project, said the current boundaries had been in place for 10 years and the changes would enable Victoria Police to closely focus on the different needs of each police area and be better prepared to respond to emergencies.
“The changes will assist managers in better co-ordinating local arrangements in times of emergency and should not impact on day to day policing,” Supt Bull said.
Supt Bull said a significant amount of work had been undertaken by the project team to ensure the changes were as seamless as possible.
“These are quite significant changes and we believe they will provide a more cohesive emergency service response for Victorians.”
Cardinia District Inspector Wayne Viney said police internal structures would stay the same.
But he said it would be a bigger region, which would stretch from Greater Dandenong to Prahran and Moorabbin.
Insp Viney said the move meant the Cardinia district had access to a large group of resources if needed.
“It’s not going to have any real impact on us,” he said.