By ANEEKA SIMONIS
POLICE numbers in Cardinia Shire have taken a hit, with further losses felt across the entire southern metro region which takes in nearby crime hot spots, Casey and Greater Dandenong.
The fast-growing region experienced a drop in front-line police officers between September and December last year, with six officers shaved from the Cardinia Shire region.
The entire outer south-eastern region, one of the busier metropolitan police regions, experienced a close to four per cent decrease in staffing numbers over the quarter.
The most significant dip in police numbers occurred in the Greater Dandenong region, down 21 officers while the City of Casey dropped eight officers and the Cardinia Shire region lost six members.
Opposition police spokesman and Eastern Victoria Region MP Edward O’Donohue provided the Gazette quarterly police statistics.
They show the number of sworn full-time equivalent officers in Cardinia Shire dropped from 699 to 672 officers in the final three months of last year.
Mr O’Donohue lashed out, stating: “Daniel Andrews’ failure to appropriately resource police has caused a reduction of front-line officers.”
Cardinia Police Inspector Shane Smith said there was no reduction in police numbers during the three-month period, with additional roles created in the Cardinia Family Violence Unit in that period.
“We haven’t lost any positions, we have gained them,” he said.
Leave agreements may also factor into the statistics, Mr Smith suggested.
However, the issue did appear to have an impact in early November when the Pakenham station was shut down due to a lack of on-duty officers.
A security shutter barred residents from contacting officers at the 24-hour station throughout the day on Wednesday 4 November as the station failed to have the officers required to operate the front counter.
The condition forms part of police anti-terror protocols adopted last year.
A statement issued by Victoria Police indicated the southern metropolitan division was policed with adequate staff.
“Victoria Police allocates resources at a divisional level, not at a local level,” the statement read.
“The number of positions in any area tends to fluctuate depending on movements and vacancies.”
Mr Smith said the two-up policy had had “some impact on how shifts are structured”, but overall resources matched the policing demands for the region.
The State Government’s Acting Police Minister Robin Scott accused Mr O’Donohue of inciting undue fear into the community.
“This government supports police and Mr O’Donohue is scaremongering,” he said, indicating 400 additional custody officers put at different stations across metropolitan Melbourne enabled increased deployment of front-line staff.
“This policy is already having an impact.
“We have funded almost 700 police personnel in our first year of government, including 400 custody officers, 109 PSOs, 62 transit police, 88 counterterrorism specialists and eight forensic analysts to help police crack down on clandestine drug labs.”
Mr Scott argued the southern metro region had 50 more full-time equivalent police officers in its ranks since October 2014.
