Victoria Police has affirmed its commitment to the community with a new grassroots approach launching across the state on Friday 1 April.
With Victoria returning to normal in the aftermath of the global pandemic, Chief Commissioner Shane Patton’s back-to-basics initiative will see police focus on the issues that matter most to local communities.
Victoria Police’s new Neighbourhood Policing model is now in place statewide, having been progressively rolled out from an initial eight areas last year.
These initiatives could already be seen coming into practice across the Yarra Ranges, with Lilydale’s station commander Mel Woods and emergency management coordinator Mark Knight drawing a focus to this type of policing when the Star Mail spoke to them in January.
“Our expectations will be that members actually can do foot patrols and speak to local traders. We are an intelligence-led policing organisation now and our best intelligence comes from members of the public,” Sen Sgt Woods said.
“I really love the idea about getting police back in schools [for talks]. That’s one of my big things having come from a small station. You know your principals, you know the students, you know the staff, you have a great working relationship,” Sen Sgt Knight said.
“It will all flow in with the neighborhood policing. There’s schools within those areas that the sergeants will have, so that’ll be a big part of their responsibilities as well.”
On a broader scale, this will see police engage with the local community to strengthen relationships, share intelligence and find out what issues people care about most. These are recorded in a community issues register with officers tasked to specifically address concerns and report back to residents on what’s been done.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said it is time reset the focus on the community after the global pandemic.
“Our new back-to-basics approach is about making sure we’re listening to the community and tackling the issues they care about,” he said.
“Delivering on this commitment not only means we can get on top of issues before they become more serious but make people feel safe to go about their everyday business.”
Police work with partners like local councils, community groups and government agencies when issues are more complex.
Other initiatives such as local safety committees and CommSafe forums are also being set up in each police service area so members can directly discuss issues with the public and partner agencies.
Victoria Police’s renewed focus on community policing has been bolstered with the return of protective services officers to most train stations and the revitalised involvement of police with schools.
For more information about Neighbourhood Policing go to the Victoria Police website, police.vic.gov.au/neighbourhood-policing.
