General News
14 February, 2025
Neighbourhood forum to bring police and community together for change
Local police encourage the community to come to the Neighbourhood Policing Forum next Wednesday to discuss and collaborate on the issues that matter most to them and their community.
The Goldfields PSA Neighbourhood Policing Forum which includes Mount Alexander, Central Goldfields and Loddon local government areas will be held at the Maryborough Education Centre Performing Arts Theatre between 5.30 and 8.30 pm.
The forum will give the local community a chance to speak with police members from their community about issues that affect their community.
The panel will include members from Farm Crime, Family Violence, Road Policing, Criminal Investigations, Proactive Policing, Youth Resource Officers, and frontline members who interact with the community daily.
Maryborough Police Senior Sergeant David Flood said the upcoming policing forum is just as much about bringing police together as it is the community to “think tank how we’re going to open up an issue”.
“Because if we don’t get to the root of that, we’ll keep policing and policing and policing and we won’t change it,” he said.
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Once an issue is identified as a part of a collaborative discussion it will be recorded on the Goldfields Community Issues register. Steps will then be taken to see how best the community can be supported, external stakeholders engaged, and when tasking can be prioritised to give police and the community to positively influence change.
As part of these considerations, and with the focus on positively influencing change, Sen Sgt Flood said they will also consider what comes after the enforceable action.
“What do we do afterwards? How do we help the victim? How do we help the offender? How do we help the community all get back together? Neighbourhood forums help us understand peoples’ perspective,” he said.
Sen Sgt Flood also views the forum as an opportunity for community to clarify any questions they have about how local police operate.
“We’re very open to, within these forums, discuss some of the reasons and the rationale of why we’ve done some things. We’ve got policies, we’ve got procedures, we’ve got legislation. Not everybody knows them but we’re working from them,” he said.
At the end of the day though Sen Sgt Flood hopes these discussions will help break down barriers between the community and police.
“We are the community, we’re impacted just like everybody else,” he said.
Those interested in attending should register by sending their details to CENTRALGOLDFIELDS-OIC@police.vic.gov.au
Buses will leave from outside the Castlemaine Police Station at 4.30 pm. If interested leave your name, contact number and the number of seats required in your registration response.