Victorian Police
| Victoria Police | |
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Patch of the Victoria Police
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Logo of the Victoria Police
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Flag of the Victoria Police
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| Motto | Uphold the Right Originally written in French as "Tenez le Droit" |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 8 January, 1853 |
| Employees | 18,146 (30 June 2016) |
| Annual budget | A$2.51 billion (2015–16) |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | State of Victoria, Australia |
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| Victoria Police jurisdiction | |
| Governing body | Government of Victoria |
| Constituting instrument | Victoria Police Act 2013 |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overviewed by | Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) (Formerly Office of Police Integrity) |
| Headquarters | Victoria Police Centre 637 Flinders Street, Docklands, VIC 3008 GPO Box 913 37°49′08″S 144°57′45″E / 37.8189°S 144.9624°ECoordinates: 37°49′08″S 144°57′45″E / 37.8189°S 144.9624°E |
| Sworn members | 14,948 (June 2016) |
| Minister responsible | Lisa Neville, Minister for Police |
| Agency executive | Graham Ashton, Chief Commissioner |
| Units |
List
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| Regions | Western, Eastern, North West Metro, Southern Metro |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 329 |
| Website | |
| vicpolicenews.com.au | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. It was formed in 1853 and now operates under the Victoria Police Act 2013.
As of 30 June 2016[update], Victoria Police had over 18,146 sworn members, along with 109 recruits in training, 2 reservists, 1,355 protective services officers and 3,198 civilian staff across 329 police stations. It had a running cost of some A$2.51bn.
Victoria Police enjoys one of the highest community confidence in the world, with more than 86.1% of Victorian residents feeling confident to contact the police. The general satisfaction is also high, with more than 76.9% of Victorian residents satisfied with policing services in general.
The early settlers of Melbourne provided their own police force and in 1840 there were 12 constables who were paid two shillings and nine pence per day and the chief constable was Mr. W (Tulip) Wright. Charles Brodie followed Wright as chief constable in 1842 and was succeeded by W. J. Sugden who held the positions of 'town chief constable' and superintendent of the local fire brigade. By 1847 there were police in 'country centres' and the Melbourne force was composed of 'one chief officer, four sergeants, and 20 petty constables'. There was also 'a force of 28 mounted natives' enlisted and trained by DeVilliers and, later, Captain Pulteney Dana.
The Snodgrass Committee was established in early 1852 to "identify the policing needs of the colony" and, following the Committee's report in September 1852, the Victoria Police was formally established on 8 January 1853 from an existing colonial police force of 875 men. Later that month William Henry Fancourt Mitchell was 'gazetted as Chief Commissioner of Police for the Colony of Victoria'.
The Port Phillip Native Police Corps was established in Victoria in 1842 and employed aboriginal trackers to carry out duties which included searching for missing persons, carrying messages, and escorting dignitaries through unfamiliar territory.
In 1853, Victoria Police was the first police organisation in Australia who merged all its police entities into one organisation under Victoria Police Chief Commissioner William Mitchell. Victoria continues to be the only state in Australia with a Chief Commissioner of Police.
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Wikipedia