3 weeks ago
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Protective Services Officers will no longer permanently patrol 120 train stations across Melbourne’s transport network at night under the most significant overhaul of their remit since 2010.
The change is among a suite of measures announced by Victoria Police and the state government on Saturday that will also include the deployment of PSOs and police to shopping centres around Christmas.
It comes as police grapple with more than 1000 vacancies across their ranks.
Protective Services Officers will be redeployed from 120 train stations. Credit: Jason South
Under the changes, PSOs will have an expanded presence at 32 “high-risk” train stations, with officers patrolling the platforms from 9am until the last service, instead of from 6pm.
They will also continue to have a permanent nightly presence at 72-lower crime stations on the network, starting from 6pm. In the remaining “low-crime rate” 120 stations, the officers will operate in mobile clusters, with each team moving between six stations.
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PSOs have had a nightly presence at train stations since 2010, when the Baillieu government was elected on a promise to put two at every station each night between 6pm and the final train service.
Victoria Police and the government have not made public which stations will fall under each category.
Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said the change would allow officers to travel on the public transport network and to patrol the shopping areas immediately around those stations.
“That will give us a far more intelligent, far more effective way of preventing crime and keeping people across that network safe,” Bush told reporters on Saturday.
Bush said police would also use intelligence and CCTV camera footage in real time to deploy officers to specific locations based on demand.
Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the changes were about gaining the flexibility to deploy PSOs “where they need it most, not where they’ve always been”.
“Our Protective Services Officers are a crime reduction tool, but right now, they’re hamstrung by the past and glued to their seats, even if crime is occurring just down the street,” he said.
He said the changes were informed by police intelligence that suggested crime in train stations largely occurred in the afternoon.
Asked whether the permanent presence of PSOs at stations could be the reason behind the lack of offending, Carbines acknowledged criminals took advantage of a lessened police presence to offend but insisted the deployments would be based on intelligence.
The shopping centre patrols will form part of a $2.3 million 90-day operation due to launch before Christmas. They will be staffed on a voluntary basis and counted as overtime.
The state government will also fund 842 new search wands at a cost of almost $1 million for officers to conduct weapons searches. Currently, the force has between 40 and 50.
Carbines said police would use their expanded powers to make the shopping centres designated search areas, and new legislation would not be required to enact the changes.
As part of the changes, Victoria Police will also recruit 200 police reservists to fill low-risk desk jobs, including administrative duties at police stations, to free up officers to go out on the beat.
Bush said he was confident the force would find enough officers willing to volunteer to enact the plan, despite grappling with more than 1100 vacancies across its ranks.
“There’s a lot in it for them, I think they’ll enjoy it. They’ll enjoy being part of the community. They’ll enjoy preventing crime and responding to calls,” Bush said.
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