I am deeply disappointed that this day has come. The Police Bands have been an excellent vehicle for building and upholding good-will between Victoria Police and the public. In particular, I watched a great many young people, many of whom had a suspicious or cynical attitude to the police, revisit their attitudes to police whilst enjoying the music of the police bands. Unfortunately the good-will and the relationships that were built, and the extent to which this has made the role of operational police in the field, in crime prevention, crime reduction and crime response so much easier is something that is very hard translate into numbers. That makes it difficult to communicate to bean-counters who want everything quantified - preferably in dollar values. I know that everything has to be budgeted and paid for, but sometimes budget processes have a tendency to see things in terms of cost, because it is easily measured, rather than value, which is sometimes more difficult to measure. I recall enjoying the music of the various Police Bands, both as Minister and as a member of the general community, at countless community events, civic parades, carol services, memorial days, schools, shows, fetes and graduations. As a lifelong Victorian I have always felt a great deal of pride in Victoria Police, and the bands always helped to bring that pride to the fore and to celebrate a great police force, and the very special people that serve in it- The Police Bands had been in the sights of Treasury for many years. I recall that there was not one single budget process, where the Police Bands were not at the top of Treasurys hitlist for savings. I know that countless Police Ministers, including myself, resisted these onslaughts, annually, over countless budget processes. The good-will generated by the police bands far outweighed the miserly savings that would be achieved. Today is a sad day, but members of the Police Bands should hold their heads high. Thousands of police officers know and appreciate the role you have played in building and maintaining morale and making their very difficult jobs in working with the community to reduce crime, that much easier. And all Victorians will appreciate the enjoyment you have brought them and the support you have provided for their communities. Hopefully, one day, we may celebrate the return of the Police Bands, to the great music we all listened to with great joy.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 13:58:17 +0000
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