A byproduct of the shortfall in Police numbers, estimated at 1500, is saving the Government approximately $434 m in sworn police employees’ costs per annum.

• All in cost per sworn officer (organisation-wide total expenses ÷ sworn FTE)
  ≈ $289,800 per officer per year.
  Calculation uses Victoria Police’s 2024–25 total expenses of $4.610 b and sworn FTE of 15,909. [police.vic.gov.au], [police.vic.gov.au]
• Personnel component only (employee expenses ÷ sworn FTE)
  ≈ $230,600 per officer per year.
  (Employee expenses: $3.668 b). [police.vic.gov.au], [police.vic.gov.au]

You don’t have to be a mathematical genius to understand what is going on.

Add to that that the population of Victoria has increased by over 640k, dramatically diluting the overall ratio of Police to population.

This is clearly one of the drivers for the crime surge – there are not enough police to do the job.

Available Official Population Data

When you review the Budget allocated to Victoria Police since 2020, you will see a failure to keep pace with inflation, severely hampering the Force’s ability to provide optimal service and retain staff. Calculating the  Annual budgets,

Annual budgets (A$ billions)

* Two official sources present the 2024–25 figure slightly differently due to rounding: the Annual Report cites $4.499 b; the Corporate Plan. 

Since 2020, police budgets have severely constrained VicPol’s ability to provide the services Victoria needs.

Over that period, the average inflation rate applicable to the Budgets is 3.61%.

When you add the inflation shortfall of $124 m and the savings from not maintaining a fully staffed Police service of $463 m, the Budget allocation for 2026 should have been circa $6 m.

Average inflation rate, 2020–2026

Using the seven annual values:

Calculated average:

Average = 3.61%

These figures are worth looking at because they show clearly that the Force has been underfunded or deliberately defunded each year since about 2020. By a significant amount, aggravated by the estimated additional 648k increase in the States’ population. This population number does not include Temporary or Student Visa holders.

Increasing the population increases crime and disorder, so it is no wonder Police in this State are feeling the impact of underfunding over an extended period with no apparent relief on the horizon. Insufficient funding to attract police in sufficient numbers, the frustrations of the poor, unfit for purpose, IT tech the Force relies on, adds very much to the frustration, causing the exit of many experienced police, skills that cannot be easily replaced.

It is no wonder Police are leaving in droves when they are required to fill out multiple forms, repeating the same data entry multiple times just because they used their discretion to warn somebody, and the computer system integration is either non-existent or an abysmal and embarrassing failure.

Just one example that frustrates the community, which translates into a lack of intel on crime. A victim contacts the Police Advice Line 131444 and provides their details to the operator, who may see fit to transfer the call to 000.  There, the operator starts again from the beginning with basic details of the complainant. All the while, the victim has to bide their time while an inefficient system cannot even get the basics right. Bad luck if the victim is hanging on by their fingernails, and the likelihood of that person ringing again to get help is dramatically reduced.

The government must apply some of the savings it is reaping to fix the very embarrassing Force IT shemozzle.

Although only one step to fixing the Force issues, it is a major one, and the savings realised must be applied in part to rectifying and making the Force fit for purpose.

A 1970s-designed system that is expected (and fails) to perform adequately in the 2026 police environment is totally unacceptable.

When reality strikes, as it currently is, with the escalating crime rates, the community will demand a proper Police response to their needs for safety.

To do that, the Force is not 1500 down but more likely 4000 thousand below what the strength should be to deliver an effective service.

The irony is that the cost of crime to the community has become so outrageously high (most of it hidden), an effective and properly resourced Police Force will save money.

A Force capable of preventing crime, a hypothetical police on every corner, will save the State and the community millions.

Preventing crime has a flow-on effect, reducing demand on Courts, Jails, Support services and other Emergency services. Education is more effective and even the pressure on Health Services will be lower.

Spending more in the right places reduces budget impacts, not increasing them.

Police in this State are being defunded by stealth, and the community pays.

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