Vic police ready for Hazelwood closure

Up to 1000 people are set to lose their jobs when Victoria's Hazelwood power station closes and police are working to prevent a possible spike in crime.

Assistant Commissioner Andrew Crisp says the closure of the station in the Latrobe Valley on March 31 is on the police radar.

"Victoria Police is well aware of what might confront us down there in terms of unemployment," Mr Crisp told reporters on Thursday.

"We're actually doing some proactive work down there with other government departments to make sure we stay ahead of the game."

Police said crime in the region had remained "fairly consistent" over the past few quarters, with no obvious rise detected so far.

The state government announced last week it will pay coal companies $20 million to make their workers redundant and offer their jobs to 150 retrenched workers from Hazelwood.

Premier Daniel Andrews said a Latrobe Valley fund had been established, which was helping re-employ retrenched workers.