Victoria’s Labor Party has pledged to increase the state’s police force by 1,500 officers and establish a new training academy as part of its crime reduction strategy ahead of the November state election. The announcement was made by Ben Carroll, Labor’s candidate, who emphasized boosting community safety in response to concerns over rising crime rates across Victoria.

Carroll outlined plans to build the new police training facility in Wyndham, Melbourne’s western suburbs, aiming to expand recruitment capacity and expedite the deployment of officers to the streets. He noted that while Victoria already has the largest police force in Australia, the existing training academy in Glen Waverley in the southeast is creating a bottleneck in processing new recruits. The new academy is intended to alleviate this pressure and enable a faster intake into the force.

“In Victoria, we have the largest police force in the country, but we also have a bottleneck in trying to get more recruits through, and this comprehensive plan will get more recruits on the street in weeks, not months,” Carroll said.

The government also highlighted that applications to join Victoria Police are currently at their highest level in five years, reflecting strong interest in policing careers despite challenges in training capacity.

The opposition Liberal Party has also proposed increasing police numbers, promising 3,000 additional officers, half of whom would be recruited internationally. However, opposition police spokesperson Brad Battin expressed skepticism about the need for a second training academy, instead advocating for the expansion of existing facilities. Battin argued that the priority should be to recruit officers as swiftly as possible using the current academy infrastructure supplemented by additional legal training facilities.

“The way to do that is with the academy we have in place, with extra facilities in Melbourne for legal studies,” Battin said.

The Police Association Victoria welcomed Labor’s announcement, with secretary Wayne Gatt supporting the establishment of a second academy to relieve training delays. Gatt described the bottleneck in recruit processing as a significant issue for Victoria Police’s capacity to increase frontline staffing.

The state election scheduled for November will see both major parties vying to address voter concerns about crime and public safety through their respective law enforcement proposals. Labor’s commitment to expand the force by 1,500 officers and build a new academy contrasts with the opposition’s focus on rapid recruitment through existing structures and international hires.