Originally posted 15 September - Herald Sun

Shannon Deery

Victoria Police is facing a mass exodus of frontline officers with one in five members warning they are likely to leave the force in the next year.

The move would take almost 3,500 officers off the beat, exacerbating what police have described as a resourcing crisis.

It comes as police whistleblowers have warned that major crimes including sexual assaults are taking up to three years to be investigated.

Melbourne is also battling a crimewave that includes shootings, teens being violently robbed and the Bourke St rampage.

Stations are also closing unexpectedly, intervention orders are not being served on time, and police vans are sitting empty because of staff shortages.

A study of 1,039 Victorian officers by researchers at RMIT and Swinburne Universities has found staffing levels have left 67 per cent feeling burnt out.

A further 55 per cent of respondents said they were likely to explore other career opportunities, while 21 per cent said they were likely or very likely to leave the police workforce in the next year.

“The workload and pressure on members is ridiculous and the job is no longer attractive or enjoyable which is why they cannot recruit sufficient members to keep up with attrition of members,” one constable said.

Another said: “(the) workload is currently unrealistic and stress on members is at an all-time high. Morale is at the lowest I have seen.”

More than 700 Victoria Police employees remain off duty on WorkCover while 500 police have left the force on average over the past four years.

Police association secretary Wayne Gatt has been lobbying the state government to incentivise policing as a career.

In a letter to police minister Anthony Carbines last month, Mr Gatt urged the government to eliminate the cost of completing initial police training.

It included providing free accommodation and meals at the academy, the removal of the fee to sit the police entry exam, and the reimbursement of any medical fees incurred in joining the force.

It is understood Mr Carbines is yet to respond to the letter.

The government this week unveiled a $229m package to provide free secondary teaching degrees to tackle crippling staff shortages plaguing the education system.

It has committed to delivering an additional 502 police and 50 Protective Service Officers by 2025.

But Mr Gatt said with 800 unfilled vacancies, and several hundred more off on long-term sick leave the commitment was “akin to putting a bandaid over a shotgun wound.”

“We commend the Government for its commitment to funding these positions, but in reality, our numbers are less now than what they were when this announcement was made,” Mr Gatt said.

“Even with the 502 the government committed to, it’s net minus not net plus. We have a very, very long way to go before we’re back to square, let alone a gain.

“You can’t have a net gain until you are meeting attrition, and we are clearly not.

“Our members just over the last weekend had to respond to a vehicular attack in Bourke Street, an underworld murder in Keilor, teenage abductions and violence, and sadly, that’s becoming their business as usual. That diversity of these types of high impact crime is hard enough to deal with when you have adequate numbers, it becomes impossible when you don’t.”

Opposition police spokesman, Brad Battin, said police were facing increasing pressure after three of their toughest years ever.

“The Andrews Labor Government treated them as political pawns during Covid and now the state is broke, Labor cannot retain them,” he said.

“Less police will mean less safe streets across the state.”

Premier Daniel Andrews, who visited the police academy for a graduation ceremony on Thursday, said this week the government had not been alerted to any specific requests from Victoria Police about additional resources.

“There are ongoing discussions each week, each month. Everyday we are back and forth with our police command on every issue,” he said.

“A couple of weeks ago, we had a discussion about a whole range of different things that they want. That didn’t include additional police, I might add. The academy is full.

“There are a lot of resources there. “I’m not aware of any specific request around this issue.”

A Victoria Police insisted the organisation was recruiting more police than were exiting the force.

Last month, Victoria Police recorded the highest number of monthly police applications on record with more than 1000 received, he said.

“Police attrition levels are starting to stabilise, sitting at 4.72 per cent for the year to 31 August 2023 and 3.16 per cent so far this calendar year,” he said.

“Police reaching retirement age, many of whom delayed this decision during the pandemic, has driven member departures. This is a trend seen across police forces globally.

“Victoria Police workforce surveys show the percentage of staff considering leaving has remained stable and actually decreased slightly in the last year.

“A range of initiatives are being implemented to support the frontline as we continue to build our workforce.”