Close to 200 local residents have signed the petition after a serious spike in the number of crime offences recorded in the area. Liberal member for Ripon Louise Staley said the call for more police had been driven by the community. 

“Today we’re back in Creswick because have a lot of people very concerned about crime rates in Creswick,” Ms Staley said. 

“They want action. They want additional police resources brought into Creswick to solve this problem.” 

Ms Staley launched the petition two weeks ago and has received many personal anecdotes from residents who believe criminals feel free to commit crime because of a perceived lack of permanent police presence. 

Ms Staley said the recently introduced “two up” policy had "effectively halved the number of police on the beat”. 

“(For example) in Creswick we have a police house that nobody has lived in for a number of years,” Ms Staley said. “There isn’t a night time police presence. They need the resources.” 

Moorabool police service area Acting Inspector Jim Lappin said recently that  police data did not support a 24 hour police station for Creswick. He said Creswick police officers were on duty 16 hours a day, with 300 police from surrounding area available to patrol and respond in Creswick 24 hours a day. 

He said the best way to achieve an increased presence was through a government push, but the number of extra police resources needed to support 24 hours staffing was immense. 

Ms Staley said there were a number of different ways the police presence could be increased. 

She said as the population of places like Maryborough and Creswick continued to grow, the need for a 24 hour police presence would also increase.

Shadow attorney general John Pesutto said heightened crime in the area had highlighted the need for more police, a tougher stance on crime and stronger sentencing. 

“(We want people to know) that if you do the crime you do the time,” Mr Pesutto said. 

The petition is likely to be handed to parliament in coming weeks.