Victoria’s top cop has unveiled a plan to overhaul the structure of the police force in an effort to rein in the state’s crime crisis.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush stated that a five-point plan would assign administrative staff to handle paperwork, allowing members to avoid spending four to six hours of their shift at their desks.
Under the first restructure in a decade, sworn members will no longer be manning the watchouse and reception counters.
Instead, non-operational staff will be employed to face the public, which could save 1.4 million personnel hours over a year.
A new 24/7 command centre will also be established to help police respond to crime faster as youth and organised crime runs rampant.
The restructure will also see jobs on the line with cuts proposed from the top ranks.
“We need to police differently, we need a reset,” Bush said.
“If there’s an attack at a shopping centre, we could deter that by being there in the first place.
“We would much prefer to be there in that shopping centre than stuck behind a public counter.”
The changes will come into effect immediately and will be subject to a review.
Bush said the force aimed to reduce serious offending by five per cent every year for the next five years.
The police union said it was supportive of a “preventative focus” and would “take some time to consider the changes”.
