Lakes police levels referred to Chief
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Lakes police levels referred to Chief

The Police Minister will pass on concerns of police resourcing at Lakes Entrance over the upcoming school holiday period to the Chief Commissioner, after the matter was again raised in Parliament this week by Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull.

After being questioned on the topic by Mr Bull, the Minister said she would pass on the concerns to the Chief Commissioner to “ensure that the community of Lakes Entrance and the visitors that come to Lakes Entrance during the holiday period are confident in the policing service that is available”.

“To be ‘confident in the policing service that is available’, our residents and visitors would at a minimum expect that will mean the police station will have its doors open from 9am – 5pm over the holiday period,” said Mr Bull.

“This was the seventh time I have raised the matter and my request came on the back of the Minister intervening in the operations at Waurn Ponds police station in her own area.

“Previously the Minister has said police staffing and operating hours are a matter for police command, but given she was happy to intervene in a situation in her own area recently, I requested the same intervention be afforded to the Lakes Entrance community.

“Now that the Minister has said she will contact the Chief Commissioner directly, I would hope we will have the station open each day from 9am until 5pm when the town’s population grows from 6,500 to over 50,000 next week.

“Only this will provide the community confidence the Minister spoke of. It is something we will keep a close eye on over the holidays,” said Mr Bull.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016