Police: Resources
15-April-2010
Before I begin I would like to pick up the member for Yuroke on a point she made. The member for Yuroke suggested that the member for Benambra would not understand how hard a local police officer works. The member for Yuroke was clearly overlooking the fact that the member for Benambra was a front-line police officer for 12 years.
I speak on this particular matter of public importance with mixed feelings.
I feel deep regret for the many thousands of Victorians who have undergone trauma, suffered fear or even death because of the inability or unwillingness of this government to implement effective law and order policies. I feel anger towards a government that puts its political points and interests in front of the safety of Victorians. But I also feel a great deal of optimism and determination, knowing that the Liberal-National coalition has policies to support our police and allow them to get back to doing what they signed on for -- that is, to protect the people of Victoria.
It is opportune that we are having this debate today, because last night I attended a farewell for a very well-known former police officer, District Inspector Gordon Charteris. The story of Gordon Charteris is a perfect example of how this government governs this state. Gordon Charteris was a police officer for 36 years in a variety of roles. He held a variety of ranks through various governments and through good and bad economic times.
For 34 of those 36 years District Inspector Gordon Charteris never found it necessary to speak out against anything that a government or the force was doing.
Two years ago things had got so bad Gordon Charteris felt he needed to speak out. He is not the kind of man to go to the Herald Sun or the Age. Instead he spoke to the police force's internal magazine, the Police Association Journal, where he said plainly and simply, 'I do not have enough police to do my job. We are unable to protect the citizens of Victoria with the police that I have'. He had spent 36 years in the police force but within three weeks District Inspector Gordon Charteris had been bullied out of his position and onto sick leave. That is an absolute disgrace. A 36-year veteran of the police force, who had never had to speak out before, said something which this Labor government did not like and the message came from on high to silence him. It tried. It can bully him, it can hurt him, it can end his career, but it will not silence him.
He will continue to speak. There will be plenty of time for him to speak, and he will do so.
Further on the Brumby government's resourcing policies, the Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services 2010 shows that Victoria, regardless of what members on the other side say, has fewer operational police per capita than any other state in Australia. The number of police per capita in Victoria has been decreasing since 2006-07. This is also the lowest spending state in Australia on policing. This government has overseen a reduction in front-line police patrols from 1.9 million hours to 1.5 million hours.
What would you expect the results of those sorts of cuts to be? I can tell the house what they were.
Since 1999 total violent crime against the person is up 40.2 per cent, assault is up 69.6 per cent, rape is up 31.9 per cent, weapons and explosives offences are up 56.8 per cent, and property damage is up 41.1 per cent. Regardless of what members on the other side have to say, regardless of the arguments the government tries to manufacture, these are the figures that matter. That is the true stuff; that is the stuff affecting the community right here and right now.
In my local area we have a wonderful, hardworking police force, but it is stretched past its breaking point. This government has reduced front-line policing hours in my local area by 9500 hours, or 18 per cent, since 2002. The results of that are a 48 per cent increase in violent crime, just in my area. On top of that, this government has had the temerity to try to force the 24-hour police station at Hastings to close overnight. The community fought back over that. Rallies were held and there were street marches, and the government backed down. But that push is still on. As recently as last night I was told the government is still trying to close that 24-hour police station. I can tell the government that is not going to happen.
While we are talking about police stations, prior to the last election the government advertised that it would implement a Langwarrin police station when in fact it never, ever intended that that would be the case. It intended to build one in North Frankston but advertised it as the Langwarrin-Carrum Downs police station. It also claimed it would be a 24-hour station when it will actually be a 16-hour station.
What is more, the troops to man that station are going to come from surrounding stations. That is the way this government operates.
On the subject of public transport, commuters are fearful of using public transport after dark. In my community locals tell me regularly that they are not game to go on public transport after dark. It is a disgraceful situation when people are put in a position where they are not game enough to use the services they pay for.
However, there is a solution. The Liberal-National coalition has announced that upon election it will put two Victorian protective services officers (PSOs) at every railway station in the metropolitan area and major regional centres from 6.00 p.m. until after the last train 365 days a year. Those protective services officers will be trained and armed.
I am pleased to say that all of the train stations in my area -- the Stony Point, Crib Point, Morradoo, Bittern, Hastings, Tyabb, Somerville, Baxter and Leawarra stations -- will have that policy applied to them. The PSOs will be trained properly -- they will not be diverted elsewhere -- and they will be authorised to arrest, remove or impede any offenders or threatening individuals, unlike the people who are at the stations at the moment who are ordered not to get involved; in effect leaving Victorians alone to fend for themselves. This policy does not affect only train travellers either, because anyone in the vicinity of a train station will be able to go to that station to gain the protection of the protective services officers.
Across the wider community the coalition has plans for a dedicated $344 million fund for an additional 1600 police officers, along with an investment -- and this is very important -- of $65 million in operational equipment to go with those new officers.
Victorian families have a right to feel safe and secure in their homes and on the streets, but under this government they do not feel that.
These are just two of the most recent policies the coalition has announced to help Victorians feel safe again. Some of the others include abolishing suspended sentences, introducing tough new anti-hoon laws, including the crushing of offenders' cars, banning violent drunks from licensed premises, banning the sale of knives to minors and conducting a shake-up of liquor licensing laws.