More police are on the beat in Victoria as custody officers begin their new roles to maintain security at some of the state’s busiest police stations.

Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Ben Carroll said the Police Custody Officers (PCOs) would proudly serve the community while also helping sworn police return to the front line.

Custody officers have today been deployed to metropolitan stations in Frankston, Moorabbin, Ringwood and Dandenong, as well as regional stations in Ballarat, Bendigo, Horsham, Mildura, Warrnambool, Morwell, Shepparton, Wangaratta and Wodonga.

The 48 new PCOs from squads three and four will manage offenders in police cells, transport detainees between court and police stations, and perform administrative duties to support police.

The Andrews Labor Government has now rolled out 84 custody officers at 19 police stations.

The Government has invested $148.6 million to recruit, train and deploy 400 custody officers to 22 police stations over the next three years.

Full deployment is expected by the end of 2017.

A $596 million Public Safety Package announced in last week’s budget delivers on the Government’s promise to give police the resources they need, with 406 new sworn police to respond to gang-related crime, gun crime, terrorist threats, and family violence.

Anyone interested in becoming a custody officer can visit the police careers website www.policecareer.vic.gov.au/PCO

Quotes attributable to Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Ben Carroll

“These new custody officers will play a critical role in community safety by allowing more police to do what they do best – fight and prevent crime.”

“The deployments of PCOs will continue right across Victoria, and adds to our promise to give police the resources they need to get the job done.”