Police say North East numbers fine but concerns continue to be aired

The police union recently flagged concerns about the number of people off duty, with 51 officers on leave.

Additional officers have started working in Wodonga this week after a push by the union for a solution to the long running problem.

Former officers and those linked to serving members have spoken in recent weeks of concerns over the top level of management in the region.

The parent of a sworn officer has written to The Border Mail raising concerns about the impact of stress on officers, and for police command to reveal the number of job losses this year and last year.

They said the poor management practices reported were concerning with fears more police will be pushed out of the job.

"It can seriously affect the career of individual members and in some cases drive them from a career they are passionate about, dedicated to and dare I say very good at!" they said.

"I would push for an open, public inquiry but I don't think this will happen as the force will not want the 'dirty linen' aired in public.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"However, because the effect on individual officers extends to their families, family members should be able to make submissions to express their point of view and feelings.

"Hopefully the Chief Commissioner will take some immediate concrete action or I fear the situation will deteriorate further and more officers will leave the force."

Police command last week said 10 additional police would start in Wodonga from this week.

The officer's parent said the force needed to say how many police in the region had left the job, how many cited stress as the reason, how many years of experience were lost and how many on leave cited stress.

A police spokeswoman didn't provide numbers to The Border Mail but said the force had enough officers.

"Victoria Police is continuing to currently meet the required service levels in the Wodonga and Wangaratta areas," the spokeswoman said.

"Put simply for the community, we have sufficient police officers both at stations and out on the road in divisional vans, responding to incidents as they occur.

"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.

"In addition to this, we also continue to actively recruit for a small number of vacant positions in the area.

"Victoria Police is committed to keeping people in Wangaratta and Wodonga safe.

"We want to reassure the community that police officers are available around the clock to respond to incidents as they occur."

The issues in the region have been flagged in parliament.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: