Thursday, 6 February 2025

Western Victoria Region

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:56): (1353) My question is for the Minister for Police. When will you commit to revitalising our police force and incentivising more recruits to urgently address the rising crime rates in Victoria? A simple glance at the Ballarat news and theseven crime-related stories today shows Victoria is in chaos, the crime capital of Australia. A 32-year-old man pleaded guilty to a 12-hour crime spree, including car theft, police chase, bashing and imprisoning a woman. A teen allegedly stole $150,000 worth of jewellery, threatened commuters at knifepoint and broke into homes, all while on bail. Two days ago marked one year since Samantha Murphy’s disappearance; her body is still not found, and the list goes on. And this is just in Ballarat. We need action, not another whitewash inquiry or report. Victorians demand justice.