A performance audit into whether Victoria Police understood its frontline staffing needs has found it didn’t have the modelling or forecasting capabilities to have a complete understanding of its staffing requirements.
In his report The Effectiveness of Victoria Police’s Staff Allocation, Auditor-General Andrew Greaves said Victoria Police had no strategic or clean workforce plan for using sworn officer positions and its proposals submitted to the Government were not evidence based.
“Victoria Police’s staffing needs are not clear because it does not have a strategic workforce plan,” Mr Greaves said.
“It does not have any modelling or forecasting to understand or plan for its staffing requirements—both current and long-term,” he said.
“Without knowing its future staffing needs, Victoria Police continues to rely on what it receives from the Government, rather than providing evidence-based advice.”
Mr Greaves said Victoria Police was also unable to assure itself or the community that the 2,729 additional police officers it received as part of the $2 billion Community Safety Statement (CSS) program, delivered community safety outcomes.
He said this was because the CSS program only had a short-form business case which was “inadequate for the size of the investment”.
“This diminishes transparency and information for decision makers,” the Auditor-General said.
“Victoria Police has not since attempted to assess the incremental benefits realised from the investment.”
Mr Greaves made six recommendations to Victoria Police about understanding and documenting its staffing needs, benefits management and data management.
The Auditor-General’s 35-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
