Stawell Police getting active with Operation Connect

That might be because of a new operation that has been launched in the community.

Earlier in 2021, Stawell Police were involved in the collection of community feedback via the Northern Grampians Police Community Safety Survey, and now they are putting the results into action.

Stawell Police Acting Senior Sergeant Eddie Malpas said there was a strong response from the community regarding a number of key issues.

"We have listened to the feedback from the community and are using the information to assist in our various tasking priorities," he said.

"We held a street event in February on Main Street where we were able to speak to a large number of community members.

"One of the key themes during these conversations was how much the community wanted to see us on foot in the CBD, interacting with members of the community as well as staff working at the businesses.

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"We had great feedback from our presence during the survey and it has given us the ability to build further on that to create stronger relationships out in the community with the overall goal being community safety."

As a result of the survey, Stawell Police have launched Operation Connect, which is a dedicated effort to conduct foot patrols of the CBD where members will be interacting with both shoppers and staff as well as travelling on the town bus services.

"I'd encourage members of the community when they see our crews on foot in the CBD to stop and have a chat, even grab a coffee and use the opportunity to raise concerns or ask questions," Acting Senior Sergeant Malpas said.

"Alternatively, you could use this as an opportunity to debate whether you're 'Swifts' or 'Warriors'.

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"Ultimately, community safety is a team effort. We rely on the community to speak to us, report incidents of concern and provide us with information that can assist with investigations.

"We have several operations and initiatives in the pipeline, with foot patrols being a key focus for us moving forward.

"I look forward to seeing our members out and about and the mutual engagement increasing."

Throughout the Northern Grampians Police Community Safety Survey a number of primary concerns were raised during the survey, including:

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