Brimbank City Council and councils from across Melbourne’s north west are calling on the Victorian Government to establish a regional police training academy to help address the area’s police shortage.
The Mayors and CEOs of Melton, Wyndham, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong and Hume councils have written a joint letter to Premier Ben Carroll and Police Minister Paul Edbrooke calling for the new academy.
The letter states a regional academy would help encourage more locals to consider a police career, create more accessible pathways into policing for our diverse communities and help address the region’s police shortage.
It would also support the council’s region-wide advocacy for more police and greater investment in crime prevention, outreach and specialist support services.
The campaign for a local police academy is part of Council’s ongoing work to make Brimbank safer.
Immediate actions include full safety assessments of the Sunshine and St Albans activity centres which will include consultation and engagement with police, traders and the community.
Fixed furniture that had become a hotspot for anti-social behaviour on Hampshire Road in Sunshine has also been removed following feedback from local traders.
Council will also work with the Government as it rollouts Community Connectors program, homelessness outreach service, community safety grants and securing ongoing PSO patrols for our major shopping strips.
Brimbank Mayor Cr Virginia Tachos said a dedicated local police training academy would be significant for the region.
“It (the academy) would help to attract and retain police with strong local connections, cultural knowledge and language skills, ” Cr Tachos said.
“We’re pleased the Government are listening to our concerns around improving community safety across Brimbank.
“We welcome more police patrols on our streets, particularly in Sunshine and the commitment to recruit 400 police reservists to keep police stations open longer, but we still need a significant and sustainable boost to police numbers in Brimbank and across the west.”
