Growth in criminal justice system spending has outstripped that of education and health since 2013,evidence of the political priority given to police numbers and law and order,especially by the Andrews government since it was first elected in 2014.
Crossbench MP Fiona Patten,who is chairing a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s criminal justice system,said she was concerned that mounting law and order spending was diverting funds from programs that could help prevent crime.
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“You can’t build mental health facilities,you can’t fund the affordable housing we need,while investing in police and prisons at the rate we are,” the Reason Party leader and prominent upper house MP toldThe Age.
Victoria Police now has 22,000 personnel and government funding worth $4 billion a year,surpassing that of NSW Police even though the northern state is three-times the geographical size with 1.4 million more people.
Victoria has 327 police staff per 100,000 population,substantially more than NSW (263) or any other eastern state or the ACT. The most heavily policed jurisdiction in the country is the Northern Territory.
On the question of police numbers,Victoria Police refused to comment on whether it now has an appropriate level of staffing. But a spokeswoman noted the recent bushfires and coronavirus pandemic had demonstrated how “agile and responsive” the organisation needs to be.