By Colin MacGillivray
Residents will have a chance to discuss crime and community safety with members of Victoria Police’s executive command at a City of Whittlesea CommSafe forum in South Morang this month.
The forum, on Thursday, March 23, will allow members of the public to hear from and ask questions of Victoria Police leaders, including Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent, Assistant Commissioner Lauren Callaway, Commander Lisa Hardeman and Assistant Commissioner Brett Curran.
Local police will also be on the forum’s panel, including Inspector Chris Allen, the Whittlesea area commander.
Insp Allen said the forum presented an excellent opportunity for police and the public to strengthen ties and get a clearer idea of issues present in the community.
“The CommSafe forums are open to everyone and they provide an opportunity for Victoria Police to engage at a local level with both our partner agencies and the community,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity for members of the community to talk to police about what’s important to them.
“There are a number of topics [of discussion] that include current crime trends, crime prevention, young people, family violence, road policing, and drugs and drug-related crime.
“It’s a two-way street. The community gets to hear from us, and we get to hear from the community about what they are seeing in terms of community safety and local issues.”
Insp Allen said some of the topics related to the speciality areas of the executive command members in attendance.
“Assistant Commissioner Lauren Callaway is in charge of our fa
“We’ve also got Assistant Commissioner Brett Curran from the North West Metropolitan region.”
Insp Allen said organisers expected more than 100 people to attend the forum, which will be from 9am to 12.30pm at The Great Hall, 25 Ferres Boulevard, in South Morang.
“We encourage everyone to register so we can manage numbers in terms of seating and catering,” he said.
People can find out more information, as well as register to attend the forum, by emailing whittlesea-forum-2023-mgr@police.vic.gov.au.
