Local Area Commander Inspector Troy Hargadon welcomed yesterday's announcement, acknowledging the many positive flow-on effects that come with additional resources.
“It's very pleasing to see the commitment to our local area in regards to increase of police resources,” he said.
“This significantly supports our ability to remain flexible in providing an efficient, responsive and agile police service across the Goulburn Valley.”
The roll-out will see a total of 34 general duty police and seven shared divisional resources to be deployed to Shepparton, Benalla and Mitchell police service areas over the next year.
With more police set to be in the job, Insp Hargadon expects the community will see a greater police presence across the region, which in turn could reduce the level of crime experienced.
“It will enable us to further tackle key issues we face in those rural and isolated areas, such as key crime themes around drugs, road trauma and family violence,” he said.
“The nature of our policing environment means we’re also exposed more regularly to natural disasters or prolonged events, so these additional resources will enable us to be more flexible and agile in our response across the board.”
With Shepparton selected as one of dozens of stations across the state to receive new police, Insp Hargadon said the allocation was based on assessment of calls for assistance, reported crime, event management and service demands.
The additional officers are on top of previous allocations received by the Goulburn Valley police division over the past two years, including 15 police officers last year and a further two under the staff-allocation model.
“The news is significant for the Goulburn Valley and certainly significant to our police service area and I look forward to supporting these resources to deliver our excellent police service across the Gouolburn Valley,” Insp Hargadon said.
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