The Andrews Labor Government is backing Victoria Police with the largest single investment in the history of the force – funding thousands of new police to fight crime.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Police Lisa Neville joined Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and Police Association Secretary Ron Iddles at the Victoria Police Centre to sign an historic agreement that will see another 2,729 police recruited over four years.

This comes on top of the 406 additional police funded in the 2016-17 budget and being recruited now, bringing the total number of new police to 3,135.

The Labor Government will invest more than $2 billion to deliver these frontline and specialist police, as well as building new police stations and giving police the latest crime fighting capabilities.

It is the biggest recruitment of new police in Victorian history, and will grow the police force by 20 per cent. It means that for the first time ever, our state will have the officers it needs, as determined by Victoria Police – the experts when it comes to fighting crime.

The investment includes 415 frontline and specialist family violence police who will transform Victoria Police’s approach to our number one law and order challenge. This will strengthen the frontline and improve outcomes for victims of family violence.

42 new youth specialist officers will target areas of high risk youth offending and work individually with at-risk young people, including in schools and residential care.

As the 3,135 new police come online, we’ll replace four police stations in Melbourne at Wyndham, Altona North, Reservoir, and South Melbourne. We’ll also replace six in regional Victoria, at Warracknabeal, Rutherglen, Wedderburn, Alexandra, Wycheproof and Tangambalanga.

Using a new and sophisticated Staff Allocation Model (SAM), Victoria Police have determined that these are the police they need over the next four years to meet demand. The new model has been developed by Victoria Police in consultation with the Police Association, and is endorsed by the Government and:

• Gives a clear understanding of the frontline police needed to deal with demand
• Ends the boom and bust cycle at the Victoria Police Academy
• Will continue to be updated and refined using a range of data so it can forecast future needs and inform investment in police by the Government

We’re a government that’s working to keep Victorians safe by giving Victoria Police the resources and the powers they need.

Quotes attributable to the Premier Daniel Andrews

“Every Victorian deserves to feel safe, so we are recruiting thousands of new police officers, building new police stations and giving police what they need to fight crime across our state.”

“Business as usual won’t cut it anymore – we are delivering in full the officers that Victoria Police tell us they need and ending the boom and bust of police recruitment.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Police Lisa Neville

“This is the biggest boost to frontline police in our state’s history. They will be crucial to deal with growing demand, particularly the challenges of youth crime and family violence.”

“Victoria Police’s allocation model will revolutionise the way we recruit and deploy police, as well as helping inform future decisions.”