General News
9 June, 2026
Minister drops in on local police
POLICE Minister Anthony Carbines was in Ararat recently to meet with local police and discuss the issues faced by the local force.
Mr Carbines met with officers during the visit to Ararat Police Station.
The Minister said the government was in the process of boosting police numbers by training an extra 650 recruits a year – a doubling of the annual intake at the Police Academy.
The increase - which will put the number of recruits entering training at 1300 annually - comes as the force moves to fill more than 1500 vacancies statewide.
The Government says it is also working with force command to retain existing police numbers by freeing officers from unnecessary, onerous paperwork so they can spend more time away from their desks doing what they signed up for.
Member for Ripon Martha Haylett accompanied Mr Carbines on his visit saying it was important to have face to face meetings with the people at the coalface.
“It’s important for the minister to hear directly from Victoria Police members on the ground in regional Victoria, and I know he really appreciated the feedback from our region.
“We have more police than ever out on the beat across Ripon, but there’s still more we can do to support them.
“We talked through the need for more vehicles, station upgrades, CCTV, and stronger support during natural disasters,’ Ms Haylett said.
Read More: Ararat