DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Victoria Police to recruit retired officers amid staffing shortfall

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Victoria Police will recruit retired officers as reservists to address a chronic staffing shortage and rising crime rates.
  • These reservists will handle administrative duties, freeing up frontline officers to proactively combat crime and improve staff retention.
  • The initiative aims to fill 200 positions by December and another 200 next year, with a long-term goal to reach full staffing levels by mid-2028.

Victoria Police is launching a recruitment drive for retired officers to serve as reservists, aiming to alleviate a significant staffing shortfall and combat increasing crime. The force plans to fill the equivalent of 2,000 shifts with these reservists, who will primarily handle administrative tasks such as working at public counters and preparing evidence for court.

It will also help us to retain staff, because that's what our frontline staff want to do.

— Mike BushVictoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush explaining the benefits of the reservist program.

Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush stated that reducing the administrative burden on current officers is crucial for their retention and allows them to focus on proactive crime prevention. "It will also help us to retain staff, because that's what our frontline staff want to do," Bush said. He added that the force is implementing several measures to ease the "burden of drowning in paperwork."

Dozens of reservists are already being deployed in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. The program aims to fill 200 positions by December and an additional 200 early next year. This initiative comes as the force faces a five percent drop in full-time equivalent employees over the past five years, while the state's population has grown by seven percent.

We've got a number of things underway which will help us relieve our frontline of the burden of drowning in paperwork.

— Mike BushVictoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush on measures to reduce administrative tasks for officers.

Retired Superintendent Pauline Kostiuk, who is returning to duty, expressed her enthusiasm for helping operational members. "I'd been feeling a little bit lost, but I just thought it would be a fantastic idea if I could in some way lighten the load of operational members," she said. Kostiuk also hopes the program will create opportunities for mentoring and knowledge transfer.

I'd been feeling a little bit lost, but I just thought it would be a fantastic idea if I could in some way lighten the load of operational members.

— Pauline KostiukRetired Superintendent Pauline Kostiuk on her motivation for returning as a reservist.

Chief Commissioner Bush acknowledged the multi-year effort required to restore staffing levels, with a target to reach full capacity by mid-2028. The staffing shortage has coincided with a 10 percent increase in adult crime over the past year, leading to public concern and calls for increased police presence in some areas.

The cohort that has decided to come back in this first squad is brilliant, there's so much experience there.

— Pauline KostiukRetired Superintendent Pauline Kostiuk on the experience of her fellow reservists.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog