Ahead of the 2018 state election, Victorian Opposition police spokesman Edward O'Donohue claims that "frontline police numbers" have decreased by 190 in Victoria under the Andrews Government. But Mr O'Donohue's claim is misleading. The figure he cites covers substantially more than the period Labor has been in office, so cannot be used to assess the record of just one government. There is also no agreed definition of what "the front line" means. The definition relied on by Mr O'Donohue is different from that used by Victoria Police, for example, whose data shows frontline police increased under Labor by around 1,000 full-time equivalent staff. The overall increase in police numbers is not acknowledged in Mr O'Donohue's various press releases. Experts consulted by RMIT ABC Fact Check said focusing on emergency responses and street patrols was a narrow way to view police resourcing. Taking a broader view, the Productivity Commission measures the number of police directly serving the community. Its latest data shows the number of these police increased under Labor.
Verdict: Misleading