Flemington Police Station to reduce reception hours

Victoria Police will temporarily reduce the reception hours at Flemington Police Station in the coming months with resources to be redirected towards conducting community patrols.

Flemington Police Station, located at 30 Wellington St, which also services Kensington, will be one of 43 police stations across the state to be affected as the force insisted such a reduction “gives police the best opportunity to respond to urgent incidents, prevent crime before it can occur, and engage with large sections of the community”.

Flemington Police Station’s reception counter will be reduced to eight hours in the “coming months” with no date set at this stage. However, the closure is expected to occur mainly at night when the reception counter is rarely attended.

The public will be redirected to their nearest open reception counter, which will be Moonee Ponds and Melbourne North police stations.

“Make no mistake – Victoria Police is not closing any police stations,” Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Neil Paterson said.

“Even when reception counters are unstaffed, police continue to patrol the local community and often, still work within the station.”

Liberal Member for the Northern Metropolitan Region Evan Mulholland said the measure was a “slap in the face to locals who are ever-increasingly worried about their safety in our community”.

“This tired old Labor Government have failed to address issues in staffing police stations, and now locals are paying the price with risks to local safety,” he said.