Council statement on community safety

The City of Port Phillip shares our community’s concern about safety and stands with the community in our expectation and commitment to Port Phillip as being a safe, liveable and vibrant place to live, work and visit. The Council approved a Notice of Motion to reaffirm its commitment to a safe, liveable and just community in December with specific actions to address the issue, you can read more here: Minutes of Meeting of the Port Phillip City Council - Wednesday, 11 December 2024. Council delivers a range of services including officers who can address breaches of the local law through patrols and rapid response initiatives, housing and homelessness services, CCTV infrastructure and social inclusion support.

However, aggressive, unlawful behaviour including violent behaviour and illegal drug taking are matters for the Victoria Police. Only the police have the legislative powers, training and equipment to deal with illegal behaviour. That is why Council acknowledges and understands Monday’s community walk calling for greater police resourcing throughout the City of Port Phillip. Council greatly values our partnership with Victoria Police and the critical work they do in our community under difficult circumstances – we are an advocate for improved police resourcing to enable greater physical presence and joint patrols in our hot spots.

Alongside our work with Victoria Police, we also take a partnership approach across the municipality, including with State Government and support and service organisations that work to address areas including public safety, crime prevention, mental health, homelessness, social inclusion and wellbeing.

We have increased our response and provide local law officer patrols throughout summer and diverting resources to areas of concern as they arise. In response to the Notice of Motion, the Mayor is in the process of writing to the Police Commissioner to seek their support and advice on what changes may be made to the local law in Port Phillip, and what the impact may be. We are also in the process of creating a roundtable of relevant stakeholders to consider joint solutions to community safety issues acknowledging the issues are complex and not in the remit of any one party to resolve. Longer-term we are commencing development of a new Community Safety Plan including community consultation throughout 2025, seeking meaningful and lasting progress. For further detail on Council community safety services please visit Community safety.

Attributed to Mayor Louise Crawford