The armed robbery taskforce vacated its Sunshine office on Wednesday and will now be based at the Caroline Springs Station.
Brimbank Police Inspector Michael Grainger told Star the move was in the best interests of the Brimbank police division, which also includes the Melton municipality.
“The move is part of a grand plan,” Insp Grainger said.
“It creates space for us at Sunshine to do something else with but it also makes sense because now the team will be located in the heart of the division.”
Although Brimbank has a higher rate of armed robberies than Melton, Insp Grainger said the move was strategic.
“Melton is one of the fastest growing areas in Melbourne, so it makes sense to have the unit there,” Insp Grainger said.
“It’s actually more central to the division now.”
Insp Grainger said the move would not hamper the unit’s ability to investigate Brimbank robberies.
“It doesn’t matter where they work from. They’ve got a car and can work from anywhere.”
The robbery taskforce was initially set up in Sunshine in December, following changes to Victoria’s policing boundaries.
The new unit is responsible for investigating armed robberies committed in Brimbank and Melton, which were previously investigated by Footscray’s Embona unit.
Insp Grainger said the move to Caroline Springs was temporary and the unit could be moved somewhere else next year.
He said the extra space at Sunshine Station could be used to set up a specialised team to work on Brimbank Police’s strategic priorities, including driving down assaults, violent crime, robbery and theft from cars.
