WITH the Victorian Coalition gunning on crime and with eyes firmly on the November state election, it is pledging to go hard on child offenders, and “restoring community safety” to the City of Whittlesea.
And crime has become big political football, with both major parties in Victoria in a bid to score goals with the voters.
A big part of the Coalition announcement last week is the recruitment of additional 3000 Victoria Police officers, with half of them from overseas. It also announced to recruit an extra 200 PSOs and deploy them at the 120 train stations, it claims, the State Government plans to cut them from.
As part of the Liberals’ Safer Communities Plan, a future Coalition government will reopen the more than 40 police stations closed or operating on reduced hours, including Mernda and Epping stations.
The Coalition is pledging to significantly expand the government’s crackdown on young offenders if elected in November, saying youth criminals who commit serious offences, including burglary and serious assault, would also be sentenced as adults in court.
Coalition said under Labor, crimes against the person on train stations – including assault, robbery and stalking – increased by 74 per cent between 2021 and 2025.
It said criminal incidents specifically on public transport in the City of Whittlesea, which includes Mernda station, have gone up by 137 per cent in the last two years.
State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said more police will mean Mernda and Epping stations will be open 24/7 and added that local residents can be confident the police will be available when they need them, and safe refuge can be found at the local station.
“Only the Liberals have a comprehensive plan to end Labor’s crime crisis and keep Victorians safe,” she said.
The claims have been shot down by Labor.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said: “We are delivering more PSOs where the problems are, based on police intelligence. We’ve backed the Chief Commissioner’s plan to allow PSOs at low-or-no-crime station platforms to move around responding to crime where it is by also patrolling on trains and around streets and shopping strips, at different times of the day.
“The Liberals’ maths doesn’t add up – their plan would cost more than double what they claim. We will always take our advice from the Chief Commissioner about what more he needs to keep Victorians safe, not (Opposition leader) Jess Wilson who will cut services to pay for her $11.5 billion blackhole.”
The spokesperson said Victoria already has the largest police force in the nation, following Labor’s record $4.5 billion investment and funding for more than 3600 additional police officers.
“Because of our record $4.5 billion investment, including funding for more than 3600 new police officers, we have more police on the beat than any other jurisdiction in Australia.
“Also we announced a recruitment campaign in 2017 to recruit 3135 new police officers which cost $2 billion, so it’s a bit ridiculous to think that the Liberals plan in 2026 would cost only $1.5 billion to recruit 3000 police officers.”
“We’ve built the biggest police force in Australia and applications for new offices are up at a record high – only the Liberals are talking Victoria down.
The Liberals cut $130 million from the police and did not invest in a single new police officer.”
The spokesperson said PSOs are not being removed from train stations – they’re being deployed smarter, with flexibility to patrol train platforms, travel on trains and respond to emerging crime in surrounding streets and shopping precincts while maintaining safeguards at key stations.
“The Liberal plan would force Victoria Police back into an outdated, fixed‑station model from over 12 years ago that no longer reflects how and where crime occurs on the public transport network.
“The Opposition has not independently costed its proposal, and its claim that 200 PSOs can be delivered for $60 million does not stack up – it is more likely to cost closer to $200 million.”
Coalition said “under Labor, cops are down, but crime is up. Under Labor, our population is growing but our police force is shrinking. Police rosters have more than 1500 vacancies, over 40 police stations are closing or operate on reduced hours – including in the City of Whittlesea. But criminal offending has surged to an all-time high and almost half of all crimes remain unsolved.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson told the Review police conduct patrols of the Whittlesea area every day and night, including the area’s popular locations such as transport hubs.
“PSOs are based at Mernda Station permanently from 6pm to the last train. In addition to this permanent presence, police conduct regular patrols and operations in the area to detect and prevent crime. This includes local police officers from Transit Safety Division, the Public Order Response Team and our specialist units including the Mounted Branch and Dog Squad.”
The spokesperson said thefts from cars is the most commonly reported and detected crime in the Whittlesea area.
“There are also simple measures the community can take to prevent falling victim – always lock your car, remove valuables, never leave your car unattended (while running), and where possible, park off the street. About a third of all thefts from cars relate to the theft of number plates, which is why we encourage the use of anti-theft screws,” the spokesperson said.