CRIME IN GREATER SHEPPARTON AND NORTHERN VICTORIA
Dear Editor,
Victoria’s Labor Government has continued to fail to address the growing public safety and crime crisis across our state, it’s not just Melbourne that has seen a drastic growth in incidents, but our regional communities which have been stripped of resources and left to rely on crumbs across our education, health, roads and justice services.
With the Allan Government’s 2025/2026 budget effectively cutting $0.05 billion from the allocation given to our Victoria Police – excluding the impact that inflation has on the need to increase funding, and with many of the state’s infrastructure projects which would have supported regional safety being delayed, it is clear that the current government has a misunderstanding about our regional communities’ expectations for safety.
Victoria Police have an uphill battle to face across our state, but especially in our regional communities, with 1,100 positions currently vacant across our state placing pressure on our police officers, and the scrapping of the mental health and wellbeing hubs on offer to our officers who have encountered traumatising and confronting scenes, it’s now more than ever that we need a government that prioritises investment in our community safety.
Key projects for revitalisation, upgrading and building new stations across our state, including Shepparton and Bendigo as two key sites, have been delayed for at least another three years, which means at least three more years of our police operating in dilapidated and outdated facilities.
What our police deserve is for our government to invest in their health and safety properly, this includes restoring the mental health and wellbeing hubs, stepping up to bat to defend our force against targeted attacks without merit, as well as reducing the workload by investing more into the workforce, as well as building and upgrading the facilities our police and our communities need to make sure communities can stay safe.
Kind regards,
Rowan Farren
Mooroopna
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