Almost 3000 extra police will be recruited in Victoria over the next four years as the state government tries to cope with population growth and rising crime rates.
Premier Daniel Andrews conceded on Sunday community members felt unsafe following increased crime across Victoria and announced the recruitment boost - the biggest in the state's history.,
"We have seen crime rise and we have seen the need to do more, and not more of the same," he told reporters.
He announced a $2 billion plan, allowing Victoria Police to recruit another 2729 officers over the next four years, build new police stations and expand their specialist units.
The additional funding, combined with the 406 new officers included in this year's budget, will increase the total number of police recruitment to 3135.
It will include 415 specialist family violence officers and 42 youth specialist officers.
The government has been under growing political pressure to tackle an increase in youth crime.
