Advertisment

General News

6 November, 2023

Reception counter hours to be reduced at Maryborough Police Station

The Maryborough Police Station will have its reception counter hours slashed temporarily, along with 42 other stations across the state to combat staffing shortages. Reception hours will be reduced during off-peak times, predominantly at night —...

By Riley Upton

Reception counter hours to be reduced at Maryborough Police Station - feature photo

The Maryborough Police Station will have its reception counter hours slashed temporarily, along with 42 other stations across the state to combat staffing shortages.

Reception hours will be reduced during off-peak times, predominantly at night — the Maryborough station will be reduced from a 24-hour reception counter to a 16-hour one, but will maintain an all-hour response.

According to Victoria Police, 23 stations are expected to reduce their reception counter hours towards the end of November, with the community to be notified of the exact dates of the change once these are confirmed.

Maryborough Police Station is currently listed to have its counter hours reduced under stage two of the rollout which will occur in the coming months, however no set date has been provided.

As a result of the changes, officers formerly rostered on reception shifts will instead be used for frontline policing duties such as community patrols.

Deputy Commissioner Regional operations, Neil Paterson said policing jurisdictions across the country were experiencing police shortages.

“Make no mistake — Victoria Police is not closing any police stations,” he said.

“Reception counter hour reductions will occur predominantly during the evening or overnight when we know they are rarely attended.

“Even when reception counters are unstaffed, police continue to patrol the local community and often, still work within the station.

“Every Australian policing jurisdiction is currently experiencing resourcing challenges and police counter reductions are also occurring in other states.

“When given the choice, police know crime is most effectively deterred and detected via highly visible patrols in the community, rather than from behind a scarcely attended reception counter.”

Deputy Commissioner Paterson said interactions with police at reception counters, like signing statutory declarations, will be unaffected.

“The vast majority of people attending police stations do so during the day, most regularly to have statutory declarations signed or documents certified,” he said.

“Redirecting officers towards frontline policing duties will increase the likelihood of crime being prevented, offenders being arrested, and the community remaining safe.”

Other nearby police stations set to be impacted by the change include Castlemaine and Ararat which will also reduce from 24-hour to 16-hour reception counters.

Maryborough’s nearest 24-hour reception counters will be in Ballarat and Bendigo once the changes commence.

Advertisment

Most Popular