Wsw 20180117

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JANUARY 17, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU

NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE

(Marco De Luca)

Tuck into truck festival Williams Landing will become a foodie haven this week when Melbourne’s best food trucks come to town. The Williams Landing Food Truck Carnival will run from Thursday to Sunday and include a rotation of 30 food trucks, including Senor Churro, White Guy Cooks Thai, Roadrunner Fried Chicken, Jay’s Yogurt, Big Smoke BBQ, Sliders on Tyres and Squires Loft Express. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options are available. Foodies can also enjoy carnival rides, a fully licensed bar and music and there will be children’s games and activities as part of the festival. Carlo Paduano from the Food Truck Carnival Co. said more than 35,000 people attended last year’s inaugural event and organisers were hoping to improve on that figure this year. The food truck carnival will be at Williams Landing Shopping Centre, 100 Overton Road, from 5-10pm on January 18-19, noon-10pm on January 20, and noon-9pm on January 21. Go to bit.ly/2CN0hhV for more information. SENOR CHURRO DIRECTOR VINCE ARCE

Charlene Macaulay

Police numbers decline By Charlene Macaulay Wyndham has less police on the beat now than it did in September of 2015, despite soaring population. Wyndham police numbers have fluctuated in the past three years, according to figures supplied by the state opposition. There were 88.03 full-time equivalent (FTE) police stationed in the area in November, 2014. Wyndham’s police numbers jumped up to 120.97 FTE by September, 2015, but the most recent figures show a decline in staffing numbers, with 106.34 FTE police in September last year. In comparison, there are 173.16 FTE police

officers stationed in Brimbank despite the area having a smaller population. Wyndham, Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay also share 220 FTE police across the crime investigation unit, sexual offences and child abuse investigation team, highway patrol and other divisional resources. In a statement, Victoria Police said Wyndham was in the midst of receiving 27 new police, with the final officers to be in place by April. Another 10 have been allocated to the crime investigation unit and sexual offences and child abuse investigations teams. “Whilst it may seem that police officers allocated to the Wyndham police service area (PSA) have fluctuated in previous years, this

is accounted for by specialist units, including the highway patrol and the crime investigation units, previously having been included in PSA figures, whereas they are now counted against the broader division,” the statement read. Victoria Police did not confirm when specialist unit police were removed from PSA figures. Wyndham council’s safer communities portfolio holder Kim McAliney said it was no secret Wyndham police were “being placed under enormous pressure” by rapid population growth. “Without a doubt, we need more frontline police in Wyndham so that their visibility, effectiveness and, above all, response times

can be improved,” Cr McAliney said. “Recent discussions with Police Minister Lisa Neville and Victoria Police leadership have made us confident that more police will be allocated to Wyndham in the near future.” Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said Wyndham was understaffed. “The best way to ensure the policing needs of the community in Wyndham are met is through the introduction of minimum staffing levels,” he said. The state government did not respond to Star Weekly’s request for comment by deadline. ■ More

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