Emma Kealy MP – More police needed as farm theft surges

Victoria Police will be forced to scale back resourcing in some parts of the Wimmera over the
busy Easter period as the Allan Labor Government’s mismanagement and underinvestment in
our police force continues to hit.
It comes after a significant rise in farm thefts related to Labor’s fuel crisis and some stations in
the region already having to reduce their hours and patrols due to workforce shortages.
The Nationals Member for Lowan, Emma Kealy, said in one area of her electorate there would
normally be 12 officers providing 24-hour coverage, however this will be almost halved to seven
officers for the next fortnight.
Concurrently, Labor is enacting Operation Harmony in Melbourne, a major reallocation of police
resources that will see almost double the amount of police officers patrolling Melbourne’s CBD
to combat surging levels of crime.
Ms Kealy said it was yet another example of country people missing out under Labor.
“Over the past few weeks alone, officers in our region have dealt with a murder and related
siege in Horsham, a machete and knife attack in a Hamilton supermarket, and numerous
incidents of fuel theft, along with rises in family violence incidents, assaults and increased retail
thefts over the past 12 months,” she said.
“It’s imperative that our region has the police workforce to meet these increasing demands, but
already this year we have instead seen stations having to reduce their hours and patrols
because Labor has blown billions of dollars on corruption instead of investing in our police force
and keeping our communities safe.
“Now our hardworking officers are being stretched even further, forced to cover vast distances
with depleted numbers during a period where the region’s population swells.
“This puts enormous pressure on those police who are tasked with covering these areas, and
also leaves massive gaps in community safety.
“It’s simply not good enough, and the Allan Labor Government needs to immediately get more
police on the beat in rural and regional areas and back our police with the proper supports so
they can do their jobs effectively, to ensure our communities are no less protected than their
metropolitan counterparts”