Former Wodonga cop sheds light on staffing, cultural problems in force

An officer of 12 years, who left about six months ago, said he'd seen a "very rapid decline" in the job.

The former member, who asked not to be named, said the workload was too heavy, many staff were on sick leave caused by PTSD or injury, and officers were being micromanaged.

More than 50 officers in Wodonga and Wangaratta are off work and the Police Association Victoria says concerns raised with the force's top brass haven't been fixed.

The former officer, who said he wanted to speak out now that he couldn't be reprimanded, said resourcing had always been an issue but had become worse in the past two years.

Just one divisional van usually services Wodonga.

"You could go to anywhere from 12 to 25 jobs in a shift, one after the next," he said.

"That's become worse since the second van has gone off the road.

"No-one ever listened.

"Everyone tried to do the right thing and address it as best they could, but no-one listened."

Officers are often moved from outlying stations to fill gaps in Wodonga, leaving areas like Tallangatta, Rutherglen and Beechworth short.

The former officer said the culture and huge workload had pushed many to leave the organisation.

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"When I left, a fellow member I was close with resigned," he said.

"We both raised these issues with (Chief Commissioner) Shane Patton directly, and basically just got a generic response which was disappointing.

"We gave direct examples, said these are the issues that are happening in our division, we're under-staffed, under-resourced, and there's a significant issue of micromanaging going on.

"Six months later, nothing has changed."

He said police had liked his job but had seen the writing on the wall at the end of his career.

"There's just physically not enough time in the day to do everything," he said.

"If found everything was reactionary, rather that proactive.

"The fix has got to be driven by command, who need to look at a way to backfill the resources that are looking like they'll be depleted long term.

"Most of it's PTSD and WorkCover.

"People are just burnt out."

Member for Northern Victoria Tania Maxwell yesterday raised the issue in Parliament with Police Minister Lisa Neville.

Ms Maxwell said police weren't attending jobs and reported crimes weren't being followed up, and asked when police response times would be published.

Member for Benambra and former officer Bill Tilley said while some police were brought in temporarily to fill gaps, local officers were still burdened with taking statements and producing briefs of evidence from the jobs.

He said experienced officers were being "burnt" by the job.

"We've got to continue to seek, particularly in regional Victoria, to support the welfare and safety of those who protect and uphold the right of our communities," he said.

Officers on Monday voted to take further action if the issue isn't addressed within two weeks.

Superintendent Joy Arbuthnot last week told The Border Mail work was being done to ensure there were sufficient police numbers in the region.

"Victoria Police wants to reassure the local community that we are working to bolster police resourcing across Wodonga and Wangaratta to ensure the community remains safe, following a number of officers taking unplanned leave," she said.

"This week, three police officers from across eastern Victoria have been temporarily deployed across Wodonga and Wangaratta police stations to backfill vacant positions, with another three to commence work this weekend.

"This will ensure we have sufficient police officers both at stations and out on the road in divisional vans, responding to incidents as they occur across Wodonga and Wangaratta.

"At peak times such as the upcoming snow season, further police officers will be temporarily deployed across our region to keep the community and visitors to the region safe.

"Wodonga and Wangaratta police are also actively recruiting for a number of vacant permanent positions, with three sergeants starting at Wodonga earlier this month, and a new sergeant arriving at Wangaratta in the coming weeks.

"We care about our police officers and will continue to support those who have taken unplanned leave. Their health and wellbeing is paramount and we'll continue to work with them to get them back to work as soon as they are able to."

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