Brimbank City Council welcomes the commitment from the Victorian Government to establish a police training academy in the region.
This pledge follows relentless advocacy from the six councils of Melbourne’s north-west for a sustainable solution to the region’s police workforce shortage.
Council is encouraged by commitments from both the Government and the Opposition to boost police numbers across Victoria if they win November’s State Election.
However, the councils of the west remain clear that the only sustainable solution to our crime crisis is the establishment of a local police training academy.
Coupled with a long-term police vacancy rate of 20 per cent, crime rates are rising across Melbourne’s West with a combined 12.7 per cent increase in recorded crimes across the region so far in 2026.
Whoever wins government in November must deliver an urgent and sustained solution that gets more police on the ground in the west — that means establishing a police training academy for Melbourne’s West.
Brimbank Mayor, Cr Virginia Tachos said a local police training academy in the western suburbs is a must.
“Establishing a local police academy in the west will not only tackle the workforce shortages, it will help attract and retain police with strong local connections, cultural knowledge and language skills.
“To attract people from west, we need to remove barriers preventing local recruitment. Victoria’s only training academy in the south-east will never be enough to address this crime crisis on the other side of the river.
“While both major parties have pledged to increase police numbers, this training academy is the single initiative that will break the back of the systemic police workforce shortage in the west, where we have a long-term police vacancy rate of 20 per cent.
“Promises to increase police numbers alone are not enough.
“No matter who takes leadership in Victoria in November, we urgently need a western suburbs police training academy to tackle the intolerable crime crisis in the west.
“Our communities deserve to feel safe, and governments need to deliver.”
