A viral video of three Victoria Police officers walking through Melbourne has sparked debate over height requirements as the force battles an ongoing recruitment crisis.
The clip, shared by FF News Room on Facebook on Tuesday with the caption “Personnel shortage over at Vic Pol”, shows one officer who is at least a head shorter than his colleagues, who both appear to be of average height.
Victoria Police last year axed psychological tests, and waived entrance exams for candidates with an Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking of 65 or above, even though the state average is 69.52, in an effort to fill vacancies that have ballooned to 1,500 while crime is at an all-time high.
Some Victorians reacted to the video by recalling being refused selection in the past for not being tall enough.
“I was told I couldn’t join Vic police because I’m 5 ft 8 and you have to be 6 foot. This was back in the late 80s. I should file a lawsuit,” said one commenter.
“Back in my day you had to be 6ft tall and weigh over 90kg to join the force,” wrote another.
“When I applied back in the 70s, there was a height requirement,” said a third.
But others argued height should not be a problem as long as the officer was able to do the job.
“Height doesn’t matter if you can do Jet Lee or Bruce Lee style, anyone can be taller but doesn’t mean not fit to the job, same as David and Goliath,” said one person.
“Don’t laugh, the shortest sharpie in Footscray growing up laid everyone out who made fun of his stature,” wrote another.
Victoria Police does not have height requirements and only requires recruits to pass a fitness test, although in 2019 it introduced new rules allowing would-be cops to get ongoing support and assistance to help them meet the standards as part of a push to increase the number of female officers.
The debate comes just days after Opposition leader Jess Wilson made a $1.5 billion promise ahead of the state election in November to recruit 3,000 new officer, with up to half sourced from overseas.
Relocation payments of $5,000 would be offered to successful applicants, and Ms Wilson said the hiring spree would mean the state’s more than 40 closed or reduced hours police stations could be reopened.
Victoria Police has also been criticised in recent months for focusing on woke initiatives like “pride” parades and “trans weeks” and an investigation into an alleged “homophobic” slur while African gang violence rages across Melbourne.
Members of the public have also complained about Victoria Police failing to respond to calls, including telling a burgled business owner it was too broke to prosecute the offender, not showing up at all when a man was attacked by an African in the street, and ignoring a patriotic protester who was bashed by far-left extremists at a March for Australia rally.
Header image: Left, right, the officers walking through Melbourne (Facebook).
