Dozens of Victoria Police station counters to close as staffing crisis deepens

Victoria Police will slash the opening hours of 43 police station reception counters across the state so officers can be deployed to frontline duties as the force faces major resourcing challenges.

Victoria Police will slash the opening hours of 43 police stations amid an ongoing resourcing crisis.

The move has sparked fury among members who say it will increase pressure on other stations and limit services to the public.

In a statement issued on Friday, Victoria Police said station staff would be delivered to frontline duties.

It is expected 23 police stations will reduce reception counter hours towards the end of November.

A further 20 stations are also earmarked for reduced counter hours in the coming months.

Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations, Neil Paterson, guaranteed no stations would close.

“Reception counter hour reductions will occur predominantly during the evening or overnight when we know they are rarely attended,” he said.

“Even when reception counters are unstaffed, police continue to patrol the local community and often, still work within the station.

“Every Australian policing jurisdiction is currently experiencing resourcing challenges and police counter reductions are also occurring in other states.

“When given the choice, police know crime is most effectively deterred and detected via highly visible patrols in the community, rather than from behind a scarcely attended reception counter.

“The vast majority of people attending police stations do so during the day, most regularly to have statutory declarations signed or documents certified.”

Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the decision to close the watchhouses was “simply astounding” and communities would be shortchanged.

“It’s concerning for us because we’re concerned about the community,’’ he said.

“Police stations are places of refuge, they are places where people go when they’re at their darkest times when they’re in their most difficult periods of their life.

“And sadly, for 43 communities in Victoria, very soon, they won’t have that place to go. They won’t have those people to turn to.’’

Mr Gatt said the decision would impact far-flung areas of the state the hardest.

“Places that are 80, 90, 100km away from another policing service and indeed, probably have two police officers alone working to cover hundreds and hundreds of square kilometres of the community.

“To close those police watch houses and take away the last place of refuge for members of the public to go is simply astounding.’’

“Whilst we recognize that our members are under strain, and there are hundreds and hundreds of vacancies, the last thing we should stop doing is creating safer places for the community to go to.

“Our community will be more unsafe for this decision.’’

Mr Gatt said the treatment by Victoria Police of its officers meant staff had left “in droves”.

“It’s led to shortages to the frontline that haven’t been replenished from other areas of Victoria Police.’’

“People in our community, they know where their footy fields are, they know where their schools are, they know where churches are, and they used to know where their police stations are. Sadly at the end of this reform, they won’t.”

The state government said decisions about the allocation and deployment of police officers were a matter for the Chief Commissioner.

“We have invested more in our police than any other state or territory - with a record investment of more than $4.5 billion delivering more than 3600 new sworn police officers as well as world-class intelligence systems, new technology, and new and upgraded police stations,’’ a government spokesperson said.

In September the Herald Sun revealed concerns major crimes including sexual assaults were taking up to three years to be investigated.

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

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

A further 55 per cent of respondents said they were likely to explore other career opportunities.

More than 800 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.