Happy New Year! The summer months have been a particularly busy for Victoria Police with our holiday period Road Policing campaign, a range of major events and summer festivals, and a number of bushfires across the state.
The Road Policing Summer Stay campaign was extremely successful, and Victoria achieved its fifth consecutive lowest road toll. During the 52 day campaign police breath-tested more than 1.2 million road users, drug tested a further 7631 motorists and detected 75,895 traffic offences. Our commitment to road safety is not simply tied to major operations and we will continue to police dangerous and irresponsible driving behaviour.
Over the month we have continued to see bushfires burning in Victoria and other states. I am proud of how effectively police members are working with other emergency services agencies across the state to ensure we are as prepared as possible. While Victoria Police plays a key role during the response and recovery phases of a bushfire we also play a critical role in investigating each fire and indentifying bushfire arsonists. While individuals continue to light fires, the community remains at considerable risk. The recent launch of the Bushfire Arson Strategic Response Plan builds on our work over the last few years, and will increase our strategic capacity to address this type of crime.
Over the next 12 months my key priorities remain family violence, road safety, and responding to alcohol and drug use and the impact on anti-social behaviour. All of these crime types have a significant impact on the broader community and I take my role of protecting all Victorians very seriously.
As members of the community I encourage you to work actively with us to tackle local policing priorities. Together we can ensure that Victoria create a safer Victoria.
Ken D. Lay APM
Chief Commissioner
