![Messages written on a Wodonga police vehicle in December 2023 amid concerns over severe staffing shortages. File photo Messages written on a Wodonga police vehicle in December 2023 amid concerns over severe staffing shortages. File photo](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/u2TKvX7hYXGMrKgrD4ZiFN/966c97f7-4a48-4063-998d-b80db9dd69cc.JPG/r0_449_5184_3375_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A court case has painted a dire picture of North East policing resources, with thousands of shifts going unfilled and baseline service levels regularly not met last year.
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A tribunal has heard police in the region had been unable to meet community safety and service demands due to staff problems, and that "critical performance benchmarks are not being met".
The situation has been described as a "crisis" with WorkCover and unplanned leave impacting 9500 shifts last financial year, and baseline staff levels not met in the Wodonga and Wangaratta regions 298 times in 2023.
The union took Victoria Police to the Fair Work Commission after five officers from Wodonga, Mount Beauty and Nathalia had purchased leave requests rejected.
Staff are able to buy added weeks of leave by reducing their annual pay.
The police force is able to reject the requests on reasonable business grounds, which the union disputed before the commission.
Documents and data from 2023 tendered to the commission showed in July, a shortfall of 580 shifts had to be filled amid Wodonga Highway Patrol and Corryong police station shortages.
![Messages written on a Wodonga police vehicle in December 2023 amid concerns over severe staffing shortages. File photo Messages written on a Wodonga police vehicle in December 2023 amid concerns over severe staffing shortages. File photo](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/u2TKvX7hYXGMrKgrD4ZiFN/735984d2-3bc0-4186-8be9-cd6301bf94e0.JPG/r276_829_3767_3006_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Inspector Paul Henry said baseline and minimum service levels in Wodonga weren't being met in 2023, with the area having an average of 15 breaches each month - roughly every second day.
Twenty-one breaches in a month were twice reported in early 2023.
"Current resourcing at Wodonga police station is not able to satisfy or meet the full expectations of community safety and customer service demand," he said on July 11.
"This is due to the additional resource challenges of supporting Corryong police station and investigations and response units working out of the Wodonga police complex."
Data from July 2023 showed of the nine Wodonga Highway Patrol positions, one officer was suspended, two were on long term WorkCover, one was on personal leave, one was injured, one was on a return to work plan, and a sergeant position was vacant.
Only three of the nine officers were able to work, despite human resources staff member Luke Rose noting road trauma data showed "the division needs as much coverage from road policing members as possible".
Mr Rose noted the region had "a number of resourcing challenges across the division" and relied on other staff to be brought into the area to meet demand.
A Mount Beauty officer who sought leave said he had limited time to spend with his fiancee and the fatigue he was experiencing had been impacting his mental state.
Another long serving highway patrol member said he wanted to take leave to self-manage his mental health, and didn't want to go on WorkCover due to the stigma.
In some cases the leave was approved then rescinded.
The commission heard there were high levels of WorkCover claims and unplanned leave in the North East.
Commander Karen Nyholm said there were "significant" staffing issues in the area and the force was struggling to reach minimum service targets.
The situation was so dire in May 2022, Wodonga officers proposed staging a walk-out at the station.
Superintendent Joy Arbuthnot said the region was one of the most "capacity-challenged" in the state.
The commission heard a 2015 decision forcing officers to work in pairs, rather than solo, had impacted resources.
Commissioner Nick Wilson said the problems in the region weren't the fault of police members but a result of staffing numbers.
"The evidence cogently shows that critical performance benchmarks are not being met, not because of a lack of focus by police, but rather because there are not enough police to perform the work," he said.
Mr Wilson found the police force had reasonable grounds to reject the five officers' bid for purchased leave.