WHITTLESEA: 2257c sign Mernda police hours petition
Northern Victoria MLC Wendy Lovell (pictured) has tabled a petition with 2257 signatures calling on the State Government to ensure that Mernda Police Station is fully staffed and returns to being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Local people were “shocked and outraged” to learn that a second round of savage cuts to opening hours has reduced Mernda Police Station to being open for just two days a week, Ms Lovell said.
Mernda Police Station originally opened in 2017 as a 24/7 station with the promise of extra staff to serve the growing community.
But late last year, opening hours at Mernda station were cut, with the station closing completely on weekends and only being open 10am-6pm on weekdays.
The station is only open on Tuesday and Thursday, 10am-6pm.
The first reduction in hours sparked outrage among community members left shaken by several highly publicised violent incidents around Mernda.
In response to the reduction, local residents started a petition calling on the government to reverse the decision and return Mernda station to being open 24/7. A further 1432 people signed the petition on Ms Lovell’s website.
Ms Lovell tabled the petition in Parliament on Tuesday (June 2), and spoke later in the day to urge the Minister for Police to ensure that police stations in the Whittlesea Police Service Area are fully staffed, and to return Mernda station to being open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The second round of cuts to opening hours of police stations in the Whittlesea area means that the entire area is now without a single police station open 24/7 where residents can find safety at night or on the weekends.
“Residents of Mernda and Doreen fear for their safety because crime is rising under Labor, but police stations are closing because Jacinta Allan has failed to fix the staffing shortage,” Ms Lovell said.
“The Government must listen to the almost 3700 locals who signed this petition, and reopen Mernda Police Station.
“A Jess Wilson Liberal Government will recruit 3000 extra police, and restore police station opening hours,” Ms Lovell said.