- Published:
- Thursday 18 April 2019
Victoria Police now has a new, state-of-the-art home in Melbourne’s CBD to assist with the growing number of police, thanks to a major investment by the Andrews Labor Government.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville today joined Acting Superintendent Craig Peel to officially open the Melbourne East Police Station on 202 Bourke Street, which will be open to the public 24 hours, seven days a week.
The new Bourke Street base provides a larger, more central policing hub for the eastern end of Melbourne’s CBD that boosts the police response and supports police operations in the city.
The Labor Government invested $36.4 million to relocate the station in the Community Safety Statement 2018/19, after police outgrew the Flinders Lane station.
The station’s public entrance is located at 202 Bourke Street, between Swanston and Russell streets, with office facilities located at 206 Bourke Street.
The new facility provides the extra space needed to support the growing number of police allocated to the North West Metro Region, which includes the Melbourne CBD.
As part of the biggest investment in Victoria Police’s history, more than 1200 of the Government’s 3,135 new police have hit the beat, including 19 in the Melbourne Division, which includes the Melbourne Local Government Area.
The Government has also delivered a massive police station infrastructure program to ensure Victoria’s hardworking police have the facilities they need to carry out their critical work and keep communities safe.
The infrastructure program includes upgrading 15 regional stations and 10 police residences, rebuilding or replacing 17 police stations, delivering new mobile police stations, as well as building the $15 million Mernda police station, which opened in 2017.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville
“The new Melbourne East Police Station is about ensuring our dedicated and hard-working police officers have a state-of-the-art policing hub that makes it easier for them to respond to major incidents in the city.”
“The location of the new station gives police increased access to the CBD grid and provides a bigger, better and more strategic base to respond to incidents and support community safety.”
“We’ve funded a massive boost to police resources, including 19 new police to the Melbourne region, and this new station provides police with the space and facilities needed to support their critical work.”