Crime has jumped in the Corangamite Shire because of Baillieu Government inaction, State Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney MP said today.
Ms Tierney said the Victoria Police statistics showed the crime rate in Victoria has risen for the first time in ten years.
“The Baillieu Government’s law and order policy is in tatters with property theft on the rise in the Corangamite Shire,” Ms Tierney said.
“The number of offences recorded across the Corangamite Shire has increased by more than three per cent over the last year.
“Victoria Police statistics show that residential burglaries in the Corangamite Shire have doubled in the last twelve months.
“In just over 20 months Premier Ted Baillieu has managed to unravel 10 years of crime reduction under Labor.
“Mr Baillieu promised the Corangamite community that he would get tough on crime but today’s crime statistics show he isn’t making our community safer.”
“These statistics are further evidence that the Baillieu Government has walked away from the Corangamite Shire community.
“Police Minister Peter Ryan is simply not up to the job and his colleagues certainly don’t think he is up to the job.
Ms Tierney said the Baillieu Government had cut $65 million from Victoria Police, slashed 480 jobs from the Department of Justice and 350 jobs from Victoria Police while crime increased.
“While the Government is cutting police resources and failing to reduce crime, it is implementing a bungled PSO policy which has blown out by more than $60 million and is behind schedule,” Ms Tierney said.