A robust discussion is brewing in Latrobe Valley’s police ranks over a proposal which could see Morwell detectives forced to respond to incidents in Cowes in the middle of the night.
Gippsland’s Criminal Investigation Unit detectives are facing a departmental overhaul to night shift arrangements, which aims to abolish current on-call positions in favour of dedicated night shifts.
Under the proposed changes, Eastern Division Five, which covers the Latrobe, Baw Baw, South Gippsland and Bass Coast police service areas, will be covered by two on-shift detectives in a shared responsibility arrangement between PSAs.
Currently each PSA has a dedicated CIU detective on-call overnight to respond to major crimes reported in their own jurisdictions, as opposed to Melbourne beats, where CIU headquarters are manned 24/7.
Police Association assistant secretary Bruce McKenzie described the proposal as “outrageous”, as it would impact on a detective’s occupational health and safety, and erode community service provision.
“Under this proposal, a detective could be working through the night at one particular centre and be expected to respond to the investigation responsibilities all over half of Gippsland,” Insp McKenzie said.
“Detectives travelling long distances through the night will be affected by fatigue, which will erode their effectiveness.
“It’s nothing more than a cost saving exercise at expense of our members.”
However Latrobe PSA Inspector Mick West said the proposal had nothing to do with cost savings, adding the shift proposal would in fact improve detectives’ response times.
“This is a change that has been looked at primarily for better service delivery for the community; currently detectives on-call have to be woken up and drive into their station to pick up their gear before heading out to a crime scene,” Insp West said.
“In Melbourne a night shift detective might have to drive from Rosebud to Epping to attend a job – so the distance proposed in Gippsland would be no different.”
Eastern Division Five Superintendent Jock Menzel was unavailable for comment.
Insp McKenzie said detectives were not convinced the shift overhaul proposal was not about cost cutting.
“Our detectives are dealing with all kinds of individuals every day, and they can always smell a rat,” Insp McKenzie said.
