By ALESHA CAPONE
THREE police station upgrades and more than 50 new officers have been promised for the West.
Last week the Minister for Police and Emergency Services Kim Wells visited Sunshine to make the announcement.
During the event, Victoria Police North West Metro Assistant Commissioner Andrew Crisp said more than 50 additional police officers would be allocated to the region between 2014 and mid-2015.
Western Metropolitan MP Andrew Elsbury said more than 150 new police have already been allocated to division two and three of the North West Metro Region, out of 1700 officers across the state.
In addition, Mr Wells said Sunshine Police Station would be subject to a $1.28 million makeover including a two-storey extension, new uniform muster area, a sergeant’s muster area, CIU work area, highway patrol and transit unit work areas and more storage.
Room for a Sunshine-based Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) will be created during the project.
The work is scheduled for completion during February 2014.
Elsewhere in Brimbank, Keilor Downs Police Station will be subject to a $202,000 facelift in the uniform muster and sergeant’s muster areas, an equipment room expansion and locker space extension.
Work is due to finish this month on a $120,000 expansion to Footscray Police Station’s equipment room and locker space.
Mr Crisp said some members from the existing SOCIT team at Footscray would be re-located to Sunshine, but there would also be some new officers added to the Brimbank team.
“Now there’s a need to establish a SOCIT team here and that’s what these works will help achieve,” he said.
Mr Wells said the station upgrades would make room for the additional police allocated to the West.
“So we’re able to move more police in and ensure policing in this area is done properly and efficiently and that the police officers have the latest technology and good amenities to work in,” he said.
