Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt has detailed the “overwhelming” police shortages in the state, especially in the western suburbs.

The shortages were brought up on The Rumour File earlier this morning, and Mr Gatt told Neil Mitchell the rumours were true, with Brimbank suffering 64 vacancies which could go up to 70 in the next week, and Sunshine who are working at 50 per cent capacity.

“It’s pretty hard, near on impossible to do your job when you’ve got that few people,” he said.

Press PLAY to hear him detail the shortages + his plea for long-term solutions for the crisis

Mr Gatt doesn’t believe Victoria Police are hiding from the shortages, claiming they are still actively recruiting, but said there’s still a long way to go before they’re back at full strength.

“It will still be about 2026 before we understand Victoria Police will be at the strength it needs to be, that’s a long way into the future,” he said.