Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes visited Benalla on Wednesday, August 10, to promote the good news that construction on the Rose City’s new police station will begin soon.
It was back in May 2021 when Ms Symes visited the current Benalla Police Station to announce funding for its replacement.
With concept drawing released today (Wednesday, August 10), Ms Symes was keen to meet with local police officers to discuss the many benefits of the new facility.
Ms Symes said the Victorian Government was improving community safety in Benalla and providing police with the modern facilities they deserved with the designs for the fit-for-purpose police station.
“The current Benalla Police Station is old, run-down and certainly not fit to service the growing community,” Ms Symes said.
“This new station will give police the headquarters they deserve, be more supportive for victims of crime and be more secure for housing offenders.
“These new designs are an exciting step towards building the new police station that Benalla locals deserve.”
Benalla Inspector David Ryan said the new police station would provide local officers and detectives with state-of-the-art facilities and technology, ensuring they were well equipped to keep the community safe moving forward.
“The new station has also been firmly designed with the future in mind, with enough space to support a growing workforce,” Insp Ryan said.
“Once built, the new Benalla Police Station will provide the community with a modern, accessible, and centrally located police station.
“The new station will include meeting spaces where police and the community can discuss areas of concern, as well as a dedicated Incident Police Operation Centre, which will be pivotal in the region’s emergency management response.”
The $28.8 million police station will be constructed on the existing site, which also houses the Benalla Magistrates’ Court with a link to the adjoining Court Services Victoria building.
To further support victims of crime, there will be better separation of witnesses and victims from offenders including more private spaces, secure rooms for interviewing people, a safe space for people in custody to have visitors and improved management of seized property and evidence at the station.
Victorian Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the 24-hour Benalla Police Station would support a variety of specialist units including the Criminal Investigation Unit, Water Police, Family Violence Unit, Highway Patrol, Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team, Crime Prevention/Neighbourhood Watch Officer and a Youth Resources Officer.
“It’s great to see planning progress for the new Benalla Police Station — improving community safety and further supporting victims of crime,” Mr Carbines said.
“The Benalla Police Station provides a range of services for the local community and it’s critical that we provide our dedicated police officers with the infrastructure and resources they need to do their role properly.”
Planning and further designs are under way, with a construction tender to be released in October. Construction is due to start later this year and the station is expected to be operational by early 2024. The services provided by Benalla police will not be impacted throughout the build.
The Victorian Government’s investment of $4.5 billion in the state’s police force is delivering 3637 new sworn police officers, as well as state-of the-art intelligence systems, new technology and new and upgraded police stations.
In addition, the Victorian Budget 2022-23 will see an additional 502 police officers and 50 protective service officers hit the front line during the next two years.