Crime down and police numbers up in Victoria

Victoria continues to be the safest state in Australia. The latest ABS figures show that Victoria's crime rate is now 20% lower than the national average.

The Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Bill McGrath said that 86% of the force is now undertaking operational duties, compared to 81% in 1992.

The number of operational police officers on the streets has increased by 200 since 1992 and Victoria Police has a higher crime-solving rate than other Australian states.

A restructuring program has seen the outsourcing of non-core police business, including:

• Traffic camera operation.
• Transport of prisoners from police cells to the Melbourne Assessment Prison.
• Dispatch of police vehicles, previously carried out by D24.

This has freed up officers to get away from desks and back to actual policing.

The Government is also about to make a $100-million upgrade of information technology for the force.

The upgrade begins this year and will eventually see all on-duty officers equipped with lap-top computers, alleviating the need for time-consuming paper-work.

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, January 29,1999)