Thin blue line: Police exodus exposed in Queensland data

Here’s how Queensland is luring scores of Victorian cops to the Sunshine State as Victoria grapples with an escalating police “recruitment and retention crisis”.

The ranks of Victoria’s police force are under siege, with Queensland poaching scores of former officers from here.

New data released by the Queensland Police Service has revealed that up to 80 of its recent recruits have previously served in the Victorian force, potentially draining this state of experienced talent when our vacancy rate is rising.

Queensland’s Assistant Commissioner Kevin Guteridge, in charge of recruitment for that force, disclosed that since its Melbourne advertising blitz began in late 2024, ­offering a $20,000 bonus to ­relocate and promoting the benefits of moving to the Sunshine State, scores of officers from Victoria had signed up and shifted north.

“Since launching the recruiting campaign across Melbourne in October 2024, our recruitment website has observed a 28 per cent increase in Melbourne-based visitors compared to the previous ­period,” he said.

“More than 10 per cent of ­active Queensland police recruit applicants with previous policing experience note Victoria as their place of residence, making up the second-highest cohort of such ­applicants, after New Zealand.”

The loss of Victorian officers comes as our police force continues to grapple with recruitment challenges.

Victoria Police job vacancies rose to 1086 in December last year, up from 1026 two months earlier.

As of July 31, there were 1053 police vacancies and 660 aspiring police had their applications fast-tracked under newly-introduced entrance exam exemptions.

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said at the start of this year that the data was concerning and that Victoria Police was “facing a recruitment and retention crisis”.

Wayne Gatt has raised concerns. Picture: David Crosling

“Queensland police moved early to attract more police in 2023, offering $20,000 payments towards HECS debts, $20,000 to move from other jurisdictions, while abolishing application fees, accommodation costs and reimbursing other costs,” he said

“They’re so confident of their offering, they are even boldly advertising on our trams as we confront the biggest gap in police resources here in a generation.

“You can’t blame them, but you have to ask why our government isn’t securing our talent here in Victoria.”

Vicoria Police said it was a challenging time for all states trying to recruit officers.

He added that the ongoing industry pay dispute was also a contributing factor, with sworn officers fed up.

A Victoria Police spokesman played down the Queensland campaign update, saying it was a challenging time for recruitment in every state.

“Like other forces, we too see applicants move from interstate and indeed overseas to join our ranks,” he said.

“We know there is a lot of competition for police recruits, especially with forces nationwide experiencing similar workforce challenges,” the spokesman said.

Victoria Police had initiatives in place including paying recruits “from the day they start training” and nine weeks of paid leave a year.

A Victorian government spokesman said: “We have more police on the beat than any other state or territory – backed by $4.5bn from this government and more than 3600 new police officers to keep Victorians safe.”

But opposition police spokesman David Southwick said more needed to be done.

“With 1000 police vacancies and dozens of stations remaining closed across the state, Victoria cannot afford to have our police officers poached by other states,” he said.