The first group of Victoria Police reservists to take over counter duties at stations across the state will begin their training later this month.
More than 450 former police – Expressions of Interest surpassed 650 – have now applied to be part of the initiative, which aims to free up serving officers to be out in the community.
The inaugural reservists group, comprising of 25 ex-officers, will begin training at the Victoria Police Academy on 20 July and be deployed to police stations the following week.
“The response we’ve had from former police has been extraordinary,” said Acting Superintendent Ash Wigg.
“It just goes to show that drive to serve the community never leaves you.”
Victoria Police say rolling squads will follow every few weeks until the end of the year.
The bespoke training is expected to take a week and will include refresher classes in a variety of disciplines identified as critical to the newly-created frontline support officer role.
It’s a major milestone in the program, which will see 200 reservists recruited in all. They will perform a range of administrative duties at police station counters including answering phones, helping with paperwork, signing statutory declarations, receiving exhibits into police custody and taking crime reports.
Victoria Police says the reservists will be based at police stations performing reception counter duties across the state including Victoria Police’s busiest stations where the former police will have the greatest benefit.
Analysis shows police spend more than 4,000 hours a day – 1.4 million hours a year – staffing reception counters in police stations.
Victoria Police is today reminding former police that applications to become a reservist remain open. The force needs as many former members as possible to apply because many reservists are expected to work part-time, meaning it will take several people to fill each of the 200 full-time positions available.
“Training for the first batch of reservists will begin later this month but it’s still not too late for former police to apply,” said A/Supt Wigg.
“Given many reservists will work part-time we need as many applications as possible to make up the 200 full-time positions on offer.
“These roles are crucial in helping us free up serving police to be out detecting and preventing crime.
“The best place for our police is out keeping the community safe, not trapped behind a desk.”
Positions are open to former police with at least two years of service who have worked with Victoria Police or any other police force in Australia. Those who’ve worked with police forces in New Zealand and the United Kingdom are also eligible. Full-time and part-time positions are available, with eight-hour shifts rostered between 7am and 7pm on weekdays.
The full-time salary is $86,188 a year with nine weeks’ paid leave.
For more information and details on how to apply go to https://www.police.vic.gov.au/reservist.
