Neighbourhood policing: local safety committee

On Friday, October 20, 2023, Victoria Police hosted the quarterly meeting of the Local Safety Committee for Melbourne West and Melbourne North.

This is a gathering of local stakeholders from these areas who meet to discuss the various safety issues we face. Discussed at length were some of the challenges we expect to deal with as we move into the next quarter, and what the police are doing to meet these challenges.

The Docklands precinct featured prominently in the discussions.

The 2022-2023 community sentiment survey results were presented, with public safety and road safety identified as being at the forefront of our community concerns. These results, together with statistical data, suggests that the priority for my office lies with improving public perceptions of safety – and this requires a clear understanding of what the problems are.

This is why these local safety meetings and other interactions are so important.

Issues raised included noise and unauthorised access to buildings, along with the persistent challenge of e-vehicle traffic, and the Bicycle Patrol Unit spoke to the various initiatives they have been undertaking within the Docklands areas.

One positive action was the recent “Ride2Work” initiative, which saw members from the bicycle patrol units engrave more than 50 bikes with unique identification numbers.

This will assist owners to identify and link ownerships of bikes in the event they are stolen. More than 300 people attended the event, which was held along Harbour Esplanade, Docklands. 

Foot patrols were also discussed. Police have been performing regular patrols at differing times throughout the week and during the weekend evenings. This will continue and become more frequent and better targeted as we work on our tasking around the areas where we can be most impactful. 

Public engagement forums such as coffee with a cop were discussed and suggestions made for these sessions to be held at different times, including during the day, so that residents of all ages and abilities have an opportunity to participate. Further information on this will be made available in due course. 

As we transition into the racing carnival and the festive season, it is important for me as the Neighbourhood Policing Coordinator to continue to actively engage with community and develop local relationships. This is crucial in my role and will assist me in properly utilising the resources we have available. 

A large part of this process involves you, the residents and traders who live and work in Docklands. The better we understand the problems, the more efficient we can be in assisting in resolving them. 

The purpose of the Neighbourhood Policing framework is to work with communities to promote a new way of policing which increases our focus on issues that matter most. By working together, we can further analyse the issues to better define the problem and more effectively address it.

I look forward to continuing to engage with my community within the Docklands, and should you see me out there please don’t hesitate to stop and say hello. •