140,000 Victoria Police shifts lost: mental health toll

Almost 140,000 Victoria Police shifts were lost last year as mental health cases among officers fuel a soaring injury toll.

Anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne clash with police in 2021. Picture: Jason Edwards

Almost 140,000 Victoria Police shifts were lost last year as mental health cases among officers fuel a soaring injury toll.

Victoria Police has revealed the number of unfilled shifts among police and unsworn public servants involving a WorkCover claim has jumped more than 30 per cent in the past year.

The sharp rise in lost shifts throughout 2021-22, which co­incided with the Victoria Police frontline role during pandemic lockdown laws, is being blamed mostly on mental health problems and injuries sustained during protests. “Mental health injuries, including those resulting from exposure to traumatic events, were the cause of around three-quarters of lost shifts,” a police spokesman said.

“Sprains and strains, such as those sustained during an arrest or while restraining a suspect, contributed to about 10 per cent of shifts lost. There were also some Covid-related absences that resulted in shifts lost due to workplace injury.”

Victoria Police confirmed the increase in “sprains and strains” was linked to injuries sustained during last year’s violent anti-lockdown protests. Police said increases in mental health cases reflected a cultural shift in “destigmatising these issues and encouraging affected employees to come forward”.

Victoria Police data reveals that during 2021-22, average daily lost shifts hit 382 while the weekly figure reached 2600 and the monthly number was 11,600. The 139,482 unfilled shifts accounted for 3.3 per cent of overall shifts among 16,000 police and 3300 unsworn staff.

Victoria Police said it was committed to reducing the number of injuries. “We continuously review the data to identify trends and ­opportunities to improve the health and safety of our staff,” a spokesman said.

Police data shows 139,482 shifts were lost due to injury in 2021-22. This is about a 32 per cent increase on the previous year.

Victoria Police said it had ­established a range of mental health and wellbeing services for staff to reduce the impact of psychological harm related to ­policing, including a team of ­welfare and mental health professionals to provide post critical incident support, peer support, chap­laincy support, resilience and trauma recovery groups and ­well­being education and training programs.

“This will support more staff ­returning to work as a pathway to recovery, to retain people in the workplace to support their recovery and to prevent lost shift injuries in the first place,” a police spokesman said.

In other information released by Victoria Police:

• Legal costs relating to the Lawyer X scandal cost Victoria Police about $7.9m, which included bills from the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office. Overall, the VGSO charged police more than $16m during the year.

• Overall legal costs during the 2021-22 financial year reached about $30m, with some of the city’s major law firms such as Minter Ellison, Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Clayton Utz among the biggest winners.

• Twenty police officers embarked on more than a dozen overseas fact-finding trips. Top brass including deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners were among officers and unsworn staff who travelled to the US, UK, UAE, Dubai, France, New Zealand, Israel and Switzerland in 2021-22.

A deputy commissioner and an assistant commissioner were among three officers who travelled to Britain for “research and engagement” with UK police to “enhance understanding” on “police operating models, evidence-based policing, strategic demand, understanding lessons from transformations and insights on central and decentralised functions”.

The trips included a superintendent and a senior public servant flying to The Helicopter Expo in Dallas, Texas, for “gathering information from other law enforcement agencies and the commercial aviation expo”. A ­superintendent, a detective ­sergeant and a detective senior constable flew to the International Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators’ Association conference in the US.

Victoria Police says the officers gained valuable information relating to affidavits and oral evidence from police witnesses in OMCG prosecutions that will strengthen criminal and civil action taken by its anti-bikie Echo Taskforce.

Two officers, a senior sergeant and an inspector, travelled to the US for the Mission Critical Team Institute Summit.

A detective sergeant travelled to France for an operational meeting with Interpol specialists to improve collaboration on child exploitation investigations.

Victoria Police said overseas business travel was considered only where the return on investment exceeded the cost or if it solved problems more effectively than non-travel alternatives.

“The trip must only be long enough to complete the aims of the visit and no more,” a spokesman said.