12th July 2022
On many issues, the CAA is in lockstep with the Police Association (TPAV), but sometimes that step is out of kilter a little bit, as is the case with the TPAV recent announcement as a solution to the dire staffing levels at Police Stations,
‘New police numbers, together with MOU to send police back into stations’.
The research that the TPAV has done is identical to the feedback that the CAA has received about the appalling situations in many stations that are just unable to perform their critical functions because of staff shortages.
This is not just a COVID problem; although it has exaggerated the issue, it was evident before the pandemic.
The common issue is that on paper, the staff levels seem solid until you drill down to the actual availability of the members of a station to perform station duties.
The stations cannot maintain patrols, and closing a Police Station for a shift is now a regular occurrence across the state.
Pleas for help from the community are ramped; sound familiar.
The appalling reality is that the delivery of reactive services are failing and any hope of even basic proactive policing remains a dream.
Where we are out of step with the TPAV is the solution.
For all those members who are doing it tough with a never-ending cycle of night and other less palatable shifts because there is nobody else to do them, the two-year wait for extra numbers and the TPAV meeting with VicPol twice a year is hardly encouraging or even looks like a solution; a bit of kicking the can down the road at best.
Looking at what has been done, it is actually nothing.
The TPAV supports, as we do, a move to preventing crime as a priority. Still, there is no hope of fulfilling this objective unless a solution to the staffing problem is found rather than the protracted, possible, maybe approach accepted by the TPAV. They were sold a pup.
Our greatest concern, equal in importance to service delivery capability, is the welfare of members. Those members left at stations carrying an unfair workload will continue to fall, succumbing to health issues, including burnout.
Standing by while members are falling is not in our DNA.
The current number of members counted on station rosters who require flexible or part-time arrangements will continue to escalate and is the primary cause of the problem. The TPAV did not seem to address this issue.
We are aware of one station, and there are many like it, where ten members, or a third of their staff, are on flexible hours, making them unavailable for specific shifts and duties. But they are shown on the roster as full-time members.
It is no small feat balancing, Maternity, Paternity, Annual, Special, Military, Study, Sick and Long Service leave impacts and family commitments on a Station Roster. Still, when that is exacerbated to the degree of adversely affecting the ability of the police station to provide a modicum of service delivery, the problem is dire.
Meetings, plans and forward projections will not alleviate the inevitable continued decline of station staff numbers and, as a consequence, the ineffective policing of the state.
Hand wringing is theatre, not a result.
The much-lorded Capability Plan has turned out to be a dud, but as we said at its launch, it had pretty pictures.
If the plan worked, how come the capability position is as it currently is?
As more members burn out, the numbers seeking either sick leave, flexible hours or part-time work will increase; this phenomenon has built inertia that will exponentially grow.
Meetings and promises that may be achieved in two years are all things the hard-working members have heard before; they need the confidence that the issues will be addressed now.
This problem is an emergency, and if action is not taken immediately, expect a further decline to where VicPol is theoretically insolvent in Service delivery, unable to repay the debt it owes society.
We call on the Chief Commissioner to establish an Inspectorate to address the staffing issue at Police Stations, among other administrative problems.
The first and urgent role of the Inspectorate is to identify members in positions who can be seconded back to Police Stations in exchange for members whose time availability is compromised.
No part of VicPol should be quarantined from this process.
This process will be unpopular with some members, but the overwhelming majority of members currently carrying excessive workloads are entitled to the consideration.
We are not proposing altering current arrangements with individual members, just their work location and function.
This is a significant staffing reset; however, it is critical if the force is to retain staff and reduce the impact of burnout. The focus up until now has been on the rights or work-life issues of those who seek special conditions.
We have no difficulty with that concept; however, it is time to move the pendulum back to protecting the police who protect us, and they should receive the full support of VicPol and all Victorians. Their welfare is also a priority.
To be effective, the Inspectorate has to be independent of any line authority that may impact or try to influence its work, and it must be pragmatic. Hence, the Inspectorate Commander must report directly to the Chief Commissioner.
This radical plan is not a total solution but may set benchmarks to avoid the current level of difficulty replicating in the future.
There is nothing new in this dramatic approach. New South Wales Police had a problem with a dearth of experience in the metropolitan area, although that is where the most crime and disorder was. The experienced police had vacated to the country, and a major realignment of personnel was carried out to bring experienced members back into the areas of most need.
When faced with extraordinary problems, it requires extraordinary solutions, and this issue must be addressed before any more members crash- this is a Victoria Police emergency.
Your suggestion is to create yet another layer of bureaucracy with yet more personnel in a support function. Surely the solution is to create at each 24 hour station 90% full time positions and only allow 10% of positions to be flexible. Those needing flexible work hours transfer to a District pool and are made available if and when they are available to support the stations or for special events
There are plenty of ex members who are semi retired that will be in a position to man Police stations and perform paperwork duties competently. In addition these members would provide experience by way of support a encouragement to operational members when needed. Some re training would be required however this would allow Police stations to remain open and boost morale. There used to be such a system called reservists. This system worked well. Bring back the reservist.
Great idea Anita
This article hits the nail squarely on the head as a snapshot assessment of why Victoria’s Police Force is failing dismally in its sworn and funded position as the State’s principal (and only) policing and “public safety” community service. The current situation is indeed a critical service delivery emergency that if not rectified ASAP will create unspeakable harm to the people of this State. As a former executive Officer in VicPol that had responsibilities to monitor policing “service delivery”, and where it exceeded international benchmarks (and there were many such instances, ie road safety, outsourcing non core functions, training, community engagement programs, the list goes on) I marketed these capabilities around the world, particularly in developing countries. Victoria Police was the shining star in global policing excellence and its leaders were being appointed to top positions in other jurisdictions. In just over a decade, successive Labour Governments imported incompetent unproven command level leadership appointments that has crippled the Victoria Police. It is now sadly the policing “lame duck” of the Nation. It needs urgent major cultural, structural and organisational reform to rectify the damage done by this politically motivated incompetent leadership group, many of whom are still in situ, furthering the harm. There is a solution, this article describes how and where to start the massive task ahead. We the people of Victoria must demand immediate action.
Firstly what the heck is an MOU acronyms are NOT appropriate.
Secondly No one cares about the police anymore.
Your abysmal behavior toward the general public during covid further highlighted the disgusting position of the Police force demonstrated by continual revelations of evidence manufacture, lies and deceit by the force.
I suggest you look elsewhere for support given the clearly political appointment of your chief and your subsequent use as the enforcement arm of the Andrews Government
Certainly the citizens regard you as armed thugs.
Roll on fake Covi2 then see what happens…
Until such time as when the amount of directing and interference from the ruling political parties can be markedly reduced the Force will continue to be frustratingly ineffective. Conversely the Force needs leaders who are of strong capability and knowledge.. and… have the positive connections with the workforce to earn the trust and respect of both the workforce , , and the community they serve.
Some time ago, before I retired (July 07) CMRD undertook a review of station numbers. They found that many members had been siphoned off to various task forces within the region or division. However they were still shown as full time at their respective stations. The HR system reflected this.
It was like that back when I resigned in 2011, I was Fawkner, I think then that the station manning on the books was around 44(?) however in reality there were only around 25 at any given time to actually work. Nothing new.
Would think the reintroduction of Reservists would assist with station administration duties and at a smaller cost than full sworn members. I could not see a down side.
I left vicpol last year after 7 years.
One thing I always wondered was why those people on light duties, whether it was due to injury, pregnancy etc, we’re often used to perform pointless tasks. Often they were left to “find something to do ” to fill their day.
It would substantially reduce the work load of operational members, if those on light duties could be utilised for brief compilation, remand paperwork or the completion of leap forms that seem to increase in number every time someone in management has an idea on how to streamline things.
To everyone I spoke to, including members who had moved across from other jurisdictions eg the UK (who have processing teams), this makes sense and would have an almost immediate effect on stress levels.
Excellent article, & on-point!!…..
Vicpol has some 17000 members of which less than 6000 are operational, as in, on the road or on the street. At least one third avails themselves to office duties, Monday to Friday 8 to 4. Some have legitimate reasons for having those hours. Most do not. Those that do not use the association to save them from operational duties more often because they are just lazy, incompetent or both. That middle group and at least 30 per cent of the upper group should be brought back to operational duties forthwith thus near solving the policing in the street dilemma. But, the association will fight against it for the minority.
I must be pretty dim. When I was a young bloke 5 decades ago I was stupid, apparently, to believe that while all the rest of the world were fractured and utterly disassociated with common sense and necessary, safe, stable organization, that the Military and the Police were all sorted and simple in their operations and objectives, stable in function and fixed in ordered outcomes on behalf of the public and civilization’s well being. Never to change and never to be seen as anything other than the last and reliable fall back if things got out of hand as they had taken centuries to refine and define and were the basis of what being civilized was all about. Little did I realize that the order and stability that were once the stable and reliable Police could be so easily dismantled by political will to be replaced with a self indulgent pseudo abomination, much as children with no brains and self righteous agendas’ in a school yard can bugger up a fun lunch time on a spring afternoon by hijacking innocent, constructive and necessary activities and turning them into an all out bitch brawl. I thought nothing could interfere with the basic right and safety that the Police represented, as surely that would mean the world would unravel and everyone’s safety, including that of the Police would be at risk…what a dumb shit I must be expecting that from those who should know better.