Victoria’s Chief Commissioner Mike Bush has announced a major restructuring plan to reform the state’s police force and tackle the rising crime crisis.
Unveiling a five-point proposal, Bush said that administrative staff would take over paperwork duties, allowing officers to spend more time on frontline policing instead of spending four to six hours of their shift at their desks.
Under the first major restructure in a decade, sworn officers will also no longer be assigned to watchhouse and reception counters. Instead, non-operational staff will handle public inquiries — a move expected to save around 1.4 million personnel hours annually.
A new 24/7 command centre will be established to help police respond more quickly and effectively to incidents, particularly amid concerns about youth and organised crime.
The overhaul will also include reductions in senior ranks, as part of efforts to streamline leadership and boost operational efficiency.
“We need to police differently — we need a reset,” Bush said.
“If there’s an attack at a shopping centre, we could deter that simply by being there in the first place. We’d much rather have our officers on the ground than stuck behind a public counter.”
The changes take immediate effect and will be subject to ongoing review.
Bush added that the force aims to reduce serious offending by five percent each year over the next five years.
The police union expressed support for the preventative approach, noting that it would carefully review the proposed changes before providing further feedback.
