Police Inspector Michelle Young has been appointed as Hobsons Bay’s first female local area commander.
Her career with Victoria Police spans more than 30 years, most recently as an inspector in the prosecutions division.
“I think there’s perceptions, probably misperceptions, within the overall community that it’s harder being female to progress and achieve professional goals,” Inspector Young said.
“I have been fortunate enough to work with some extremely supportive members, whether they be male or female. My own opinion is that it doesn’t matter.”
Inspector Young said she actively sought to be placed at Hobsons Bay.
“I live in the west, I have a very close affinity to the west, I spend a lot of time in Hobsons Bay socially, I have friends there,” she said.
“One of the goals I want to achieve while I’m here at Hobsons Bay is to be more aware of our community as a whole, and through that I want to work corroboratively with some of our external stakeholders – so, for example, council, community groups, government agencies located within our council area.
“So that, together, we can work towards solving some of the issues that may very well crop up that aren’t always the sole role for police.”
Inspector Young said she wanted to reassure the community “that Hobsons Bay is actually a very safe community,” and encouraged anyone who saw or heard anything that created a concern, or they felt police presence was needed, to report it to police.
Inspector Young replaces Richard Paterson who has been promoted to Superintendent in the state emergencies and security command.
