The role of Victoria Police is to serve the Victorian community and uphold the law so as to promote a safe, secure and orderly society.

The next five years

Over the next five years, we will deliver our vision through our exceptional policing services, professional people and strategic partnerships.

Work with partners

We will work with partners in:

• communities and community groups
• priority communities including Aboriginal, multicultural, LGBTIQ+, disability, mental health, seniors and youth
• government agencies and departments
• local councils
• industry, business and non-government organisations
• emergency services sector
• law enforcement agencies.

Our commitment to the Aboriginal community

Victoria Police is committed at all levels to:

• supporting Self-Determination
• working with the community to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal people in Victoria
• working with partners and community to reduce over-representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system.

Our workforce

We have a large workforce comprising of police, protective services officers (PSOs), police custody officers (PCOs) and Victorian Public Service (VPS) employees.

We operate through a network of police stations, specialist police facilities, forensic facilities, multidisciplinary centres, logistics facilities and office complexes.

We perform a range of operational, forensic, intelligence, policy, training, prosecutorial and administrative functions.

Our leadership

We expect our leaders at all levels to be:

• people-focused
• adaptive
• accountable
• professional
• community-minded.

Our culture

We expect our people at all levels to:

• connect and collaborate
• use sound judgement
• create and innovate.

We aim to foster a safe and inclusive environment where everyone feels proud to work at Victoria Police every day and serve the community.

The next five years

The next five years will bring changes in how we live, work and connect.

Victoria's increasing population

Victoria’s increasing population means:

• more diversity in community
• more people on roads, bike paths and footpaths
• more demand for homes
• more people in our regional centres
• more economic pressures.

Changes to work and life

At the same time, work and life is shifting online and becoming more flexible, meaning:

• home and local communities are becoming more central to people’s lives
• changing demand for public transport
• increased expectations around access to and quality of digital services
• more risks for people to be harmed online and out of sight.

What this means for Victoria Police

• Changing community needs will need new policing responses.
• More people living in rural and metropolitan areas of Victoria will mean there is an increasing need for policing responses across the state.
• Focus on services designed to reduce engagement with the justice system.
• Need for partnerships to build capability, including to counter cybercrime.
• Increasing cross-sector approaches to community interactions and response services.

Our vision for keeping you safe

As our community changes, Victoria Police will need to evolve.

We want a Victoria where you are safe and you don’t have to think about what we’re doing to make that happen.

How we will deliver our vision

We will deliver our vision through:

Keeping Victoria safe

Safe:

• in our homes
• on the roads
• in emergencies
• in community
• for everyone.

What we will do

• Deliver exceptional services when and where they are needed.
• Streamline our processes to improve every interaction.
• Disrupt crime, with a focus on emerging and technology-enabled crime.

Deliver exceptional services when and where they are needed

We will review how, why, where, and when we deliver a range of policing services.

The public can expect more visible and consistent policing services and an improved capacity to respond to the concerns that have the biggest effect on community safety.;

Transforming our services

We will expand access to digital services to improve our services and accountability.

Our online reporting and victims’ portal will make it easier for people to contact us, whether as witnesses, community members, people who have experienced crime or to make a complaint.

Through uplifting our operating model and streamlining administrative functions for our frontline officers, we can free up their time to respond to community needs.

We will also review our systems, training, and processes to ensure they are effective, appropriate, and support fairness and equality in outcomes.

We recognise that confidence in how we operate and the exercise of discretionary powers is central to building trust and cultural safety.

We know our community wants police to be highly visible and accessible.

We want our services to be exceptional.

Consistent and effective processes

While our structure enables us to do a lot of things, we want it to be efficient and effective, not bureaucratic.

The way we are structured needs to enable us to provide a consistent experience to those who need our help.

Through improved, consistent, and cost-efficient processes, we will be more effective in how we carry out activities such as policing our roads, investigating crime, managing our multi-skilled workforce, undertaking procurement, and adapting to new and emerging technologies.

Deploying our people when and where it matters most

Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our rostering systems will free up resources and deploy our people with the equipment they need to where they are needed most.

Our improved tasking and coordination capability, supported by enterprise rostering, will enable us to improve our response to changes in demand, help move our resources in line with that day’s priorities, and accommodate disruptions created by unplanned events.

This will help our community get the most out of our services.

Streamline our processes to improve every interaction

As we strengthen the governance of digital platforms, data, and cyber security, we want to free up resources and improve our processes and our response to real and emerging threats.

Streamlined processes and digital transformation will improve our capacity to deliver accessible, visible, and consistent services across the state.

Digital transformation

Our work to digitally transform Victoria Police will leverage new technology innovations, better ways of working, and upskilled people to transform frontline operations.

We want to improve service value and enhance safety, security, and community confidence.

Our digital transformation will strengthen policing operations with more modern infrastructure, frontline applications, management tools, and systems.

This work has already begun but we need to do more.

Through more automated and electronic management systems for rostering, court documents, investigation management, and procurement processes, we will reduce the administrative burdens on our teams.

Contemporary corporate systems will make sure this important work supports the agility we need to deliver on the frontline.

Data security

We host an array of sensitive data collected through interviews, investigations, Body Worn Camera footage, briefings, advice, and reports.

Victoria Police is committed to protecting the information we host.

Our cyber security strategy provides the roadmap to uplift our capability in line with known vulnerabilities.

These changes will position us to respond more effectively to increased service demands and expectations, increased volume and complexity of security events, and increased reliance on access to real-time, consolidated information.

Disrupt crime, with a focus on emerging and technology-enabled crime

New ways to commit crime require us to be agile and dynamic in how we investigate and disrupt crime.

Investigate

The purpose of investigating crime is to lower harm to the community and gather sufficient evidence to obtain successful prosecution of offenders. To meet this purpose, our investigations and forensics need to evolve to address existing crime types and emerging and technology-enabled crime.

Successful investigations need to effectively leverage the personal - speaking with people from a wide range of backgrounds and gaining their trust, and the technical - using technology and forensics to build evidence that proves a case in accordance with the judicial process.

Learning new skills, bringing in expertise through partnerships, and targeting efforts against crime types that cause the greatest harm to individuals and our community, will help us deliver more effective investigations for Victoria.

Disrupt

Technology brings us new ways of interacting and living our lives.

The number, sophistication, and impact of cybercrime on individuals, businesses, and governments continues to grow.

Our security environment is also complex and fluid with new forms of extremism emerging all the time. Victoria Police’s forensics and investigations teams are integral to addressing these challenges.

Disruption practices are and will continue to be embedded in our operations and coordinated across our organisation.

From highly visible offline to invisible online, our robust investigative practices will seek to disrupt crime at every level.

Prevent

By focusing on preventing offences that cause high levels of harm to an individual or our community, we will create a hostile environment for criminals, allowing investigations to focus on disrupting and systematically dismantling serious and organised crime networks.

Planning for advancements in technology that impact on criminal activity and emerging crime types will help us better investigate, prevent, and disrupt crime and prosecute offenders.

What we will do

• Build, train and equip our workforce.
• Strengthen our culture through collaboration, innovation and sound judgement.
• Ensure our people are safe and well supported.

Build, train and equip our workforce

A diverse and highly trained workforce will allow us to adapt quickly to changing community needs, be responsive to changing crime types and create an environment where our people are prepared, equipped and proud to serve their community.

Targeted recruitment

Victoria Police is always looking for great people to join our organisation.

We need to adapt to new avenues to find the best talent. Behind the scenes, this means we need to engage across emerging and evolving social networks.

Our recruitment processes and campaigns will reflect our employee value proposition and attract the expertise and skills we need for police, protective service officer and Victorian Public Service roles.

A diverse workforce

A workforce that reflects the community we serve will help us understand and respond to community needs.

We need to continue to improve diversity, gender equality and support for an inclusive and respectful workforce.

We will prioritise the health, wellbeing, safety and development of our people and provide career pathways that support diversity and flexibility.

We understand that representation is critical to trust and we are committed to expanding employment opportunities for Aboriginal people within the organisation.

Our aim is to have a workforce that is motivated, diverse and able to adapt rapidly to community needs.

Enhanced learning

Through ongoing training of our workforce we will maximise the capability of our people.

Police undertake many roles in complex environments, so we can no longer rely on traditional training methods to meet our operational safety training needs.

More pathways to maintain and improve operational safety skills are needed, tailored to priority areas and using modern methods.

Technology helps us learn in different ways, including:

• learning supported by virtual reality
• augmented reality to prepare for the real world
• new and emerging technology to benefit decision making.

Future focus

Wherever and whenever our people serve, they will have the skills, capabilities and equipment needed to keep the community safe and meet community expectations.

Our workforce planning will underpin and guide our approach to talent attraction, development, deployment, retention and separation, to enhance capability and readiness for the benefit of our community.

Our strategic investment strategies will underpin and guide the provision of the equipment our people need to support them. This will ensure our workforce and its equipment are aligned with our operating model and future business needs.

We will change and innovate to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs and expectations of our community.

Strengthen our culture through collaboration, innovation and sound judgement

Our culture is defined by our attitudes, behaviours and values.

We want to equip our people with the knowledge and skills to bring sound judgement to their decisions, knowing they are supported, safe and able to take pride in the standards we set for each other and in how we uphold human rights.

A culture we can be proud of

Victoria Police has long promoted the values of respect, integrity, leadership, professionalism, support, flexibility and safety.

We want our culture to foster a safe and inclusive environment where everyone feels proud and motivated to work at Victoria Police each day.

We will continue to work with stakeholders including members of the Aboriginal community to make sure all recommendations from commissions and inquiries are implemented.

Our culture will shape Victoria Police and help deliver its commitment to the community, ensuring consistency of service and better outcomes for victims of crimes.

Upholding human rights

For almost 20 years, we have committed to Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 and factored it into everything we do.

Our teams have incorporated human rights into the guidance, education and recording that underpins our policies, training and systems.

We perform our duties in accordance with human rights, embedding them into everyday policing for the positive impact this has on community.

We acknowledge that taking a person into police custody is isolating and limits their human rights, cultural rights and freedoms.

Our service delivery will reflect our commitment to human rights, transparency and the demonstrated value we deliver to the community and we will continue to drive improvements in cultural safety for Aboriginal people.

Behaviours to guide our practice

Our culture will be underpinned by defined behaviours we want our people to exhibit based on collaboration, sound judgement, innovation and accountability for our actions.

These behaviours will help our workplaces become more positive, respectful and professional: places where our staff feel valued and are encouraged to achieve their best and deliver consistent and professional services; a workplace where we trust and support each other; and where we value and respect each others’ experiences, backgrounds and intelligence.

Our vision is to continue to foster a thriving, people-focused culture that respects the foundations of good policing, while being open and willing to adopt new mindsets, practices and technologies to keep you safe.

Ensure our people are safe and well supported

We have enormous responsibilities in our work and see people at their best and their worst.

We have extraordinary people and we want to keep them safe and well supported, so they can be their best and focus on what matters to their colleagues and the community.

Wellbeing

Our people work in challenging and highly dynamic environments where there is a risk of injury and harm.

Our objective is to proactively support staff so they don’t get ill or injured in the first place. If they are ill or injured, we will support them to get them back to work as soon as possible, in a sustainable and safe way.

We always want our people to feel supported, engaged, valued and encouraged to contribute in the best way they can.

Mental health support

While we are experienced at dealing with physical injury recovery, we are committed to improving our mental health support.

We are investing in systems and processes to improve support for mental health. Day to day, this means our people will get the support they need to get back on their feet faster.

Working flexibly

Our people are passionate and driven to serve our community and we want each of them to keep that throughout their career.

Diverse roles and flexible working conditions enable this, balanced with the need to deliver services 24/7 to the Victorian community.

Our aim is to have a workforce that is cohesive, efficient and engaged; one that can adapt to rapidly changing community safety needs.

What we will do

• Connect with partners to respond to local issues.
• Collaborate with partners to enhance crime prevention and reduce harm.
• Invest in and grow strategic partnerships.

Our Neighbourhood Policing Framework

Victoria Police has always been engaged in community policing.

In 2022 we launched our Neighbourhood Policing Framework which provides us with a structured and consistent approach to community engagement, personal interaction and listening to people and addressing their concerns.

It will define our community engagement over the next five years.

It offers a clear purpose, defined structures and consistent processes to ensure prevention of crime and handling of issues that are important to the community are core business for all police.

Focused effort and community partnership

The Neighbourhood Policing Framework aims to standardise our community crime prevention efforts and improve public safety at a local level by focusing efforts in areas where crime and public safety is of most concern.

This will be achieved by building trust and confidence with the community through:

• being highly visible and accessible
• prioritising collaboration by working with community and partner agencies
• developing effective responses that meet local needs
• strengthening our focus on crime prevention
• adopting a problem-solving approach to community safety issues.

Our approach to our partnerships with each community is based on the following principles:

• every interaction matters
• human rights are respected
• communication, language and engagement approaches are interactive and accessible
• accountable partnerships are critical
• engagement is tailored, planned and purposeful.

Connect with partners to respond to local issues

Our response to issues will be at the local level.

While these issues are complex and may be state or nationwide, their impact at the local level is where our community feels it most.

Our engagement with Aboriginal people

Aboriginal people are over-represented in the criminal justice system.

Our goal is to reduce the number of Aboriginal children and adults entering the criminal justice system.

We have committed to current and future work (including the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework and Dhelk Dja) that drive and guide better justice outcomes for Aboriginal people and reduce over-representation.

We are committed to the recruitment and promotion of Aboriginal employees and will build on existing collaboration with external partners, local Victorian Aboriginal communities and our own Aboriginal Employees Network.

On the ground, this will look like strengthened relationships and communication between Victoria Police and Aboriginal people across the state.

Reducing our environmental impact

Policing will be affected by climate change.

Victoria is seeing a change in the scale, frequency and severity of environmental disasters.

As this continues, police will work away from their usual locations, deployed more frequently across the state, to larger scale emergencies and for longer periods of time.

Our structure needs to support flexibility in deployment to respond to the changing nature of emergencies.

With a focus on governance and our ability to manage social and environmental impacts, we will work with partners to improve the energy impacts of our operations and our infrastructure.

We will build or refurbish police stations based on environmentally sustainable design standards.

While some assets will not transition easily away from carbon, other opportunities will be assessed to inform a zero-emission strategy.

A safe, secure and friendly Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games Command was established to prepare for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. This event will be delivered via a multi-city model.

The Commonwealth Games Command is collaborating closely with the Office of the Commonwealth Games with a shared goal of delivering a safe, secure and friendly 2026 games.

Collaborate with partners to enhance crime prevention and reduce harm

Working in ways aligned to our vision and focused on building community confidence and trust, we will hold each other to account in support of our community, collaborating to enhance crime prevention and reduce harm in our communities, in our homes and on our roads.

Our focus is on intervening early and supporting at-risk young people before they engage in criminal activity, protecting the safety and wellbeing of victims, and making sure perpetrators are held to account.

Reducing child abuse, gendered and family crime

Gendered crimes (including family violence and sexual offences) and child abuse cause significant community harm. The drivers of these crimes are complex.

We recognise that crime prevention and harm reduction can only be delivered and sustained using a whole of government approach to address disadvantage, complexities and attitudes that support violence.

We know that police are in a unique position to protect victims and reduce harm.

Over-representation in the justice system

Victoria is a proudly diverse state and how we engage and connect with our community groups is critical.

We will continue to deliver exceptional services through work with our priority communities of young people, multicultural and multi-faith people, people experiencing mental health issues, senior Victorians, people with a disability, Aboriginal people and those who identify as a part of the LGBTIQ+ community.

This includes addressing over-representation in the justice system, building trust and confidence in police services and supporting those who have experienced harm from crime.

We will work closely with partners to reduce overrepresentation through embedded outreach models, joint investigations and multi-disciplinary teams.

Community approach to safer roads

Road safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Working with the community is critical in reducing harm and achieving our shared vision of zero deaths and no serious injuries on our roads.

Victoria Police is dedicated to preventing road trauma including through engaging with the community to educate and influence road user behaviour, enhancing technology to better prevent, detect and enforce road safety offences and supporting referral pathways for drug and alcohol affected road users.

As Victoria’s population grows, we will see more vehicles on our roads. At the same time, advanced technology will improve road safety by minimising risks such as speeding, drug and drink-driving, or driver distraction, such as using mobile phones while driving.

A future with fewer road crashes means we could redirect our resourcing in line with community expectations.

Until then, our approach is governed by the Victoria Police Road Safety Strategy and underpinned by the key pillars:

• Engage
• Enhance, and
• Enforce.

Invest in and grow strategic partnerships

By investing in relationships and partnering purposefully on issues that matter most, we will create a collaborative environment with our partners.

Through partnerships and joint accountability, we will improve our back-office processes and make sure we spend our money as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Integrated approach

We want to deliver an integrated response with our partners in the private and non-government sectors.

We want to strengthen our established partnerships with law enforcement agencies both nationally and internationally to tackle crime that occurs outside Victoria (including offshore) but impacts Victorians.

These strong partnerships can be a model of what we can build in other sectors, partnerships based on accountability and clear outcomes.

Co-designed solutions to complex problems

Tackling complexity and new crime areas needs investment and commitment.

Through academic partnerships, we can access research expertise and improve our capacity and capability through evidence-based policing.

By working together with partners in the design and planning phase, we will be able to better leverage new and emerging technologies and build products that help us to deliver better policing outcomes.

The next five years

Over the next five years, we will deliver our vision through: