Vic police protest over staff shortages

Police in Geelong have staged a rare public rally to raise awareness of staff shortages. Source: AAP

A SHORTAGE of frontline police in Victoria's second largest city has driven frustrated officers to stage a rare public protest.

About 200 off-duty officers and concerned locals attended the rally in Geelong on Tuesday.

The Police Association Victoria secretary Ron Iddles said it was prompted by a 30 per cent reduction in frontline police over four years.

In 2010, Geelong had 120 officers available for routine patrols and to respond to community incidents but in 2014 the figure was 84.

This was despite an overall increase in police numbers in Victoria, Senior Sergeant Iddles told AAP on Tuesday.

"If you add on to that an increasing population in the Geelong area then what we're asking is for less police to do far, far more," he said.

"Police are fairly resilient and don't like to take public action but it has got to the stage where they are frustrated, they are anxious, and they are not delivering the amount of service that the Geelong community needs."

Sen Sgt Iddles is calling on police command to increase officer numbers and return to Geelong officers who had been rostered on to special task forces in Melbourne.

"We've got to get community policing right before we do the extra," he said.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay on Tuesday agreed there had been changes to bolster police ranks at the divisional level and this had impacted on station numbers.

Policing had to move on from a time when "every policeman knew their local crooks and they'd catch them for doing local burglaries", Mr Lay told Fairfax Radio.

"Crime rates, particularly around deceptions, around organised crime, around family violence, are increasing significantly," he said.

"Putting police in police stations isn't necessarily going to be able to resolve those issues."

Mr Lay said improved mobile technology was the key to enabling more police spend less time at their desks and more time on patrol.

Victorian Premier Dennis Napthine also said his government was delivering on a 2010 election promise to add 1700 extra police officers.

"It's up to the police commissioner and the police command to allocate those resources across the state to meet the needs of making our community safer," Dr Napthine told Fairfax Radio.

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