Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt has backed up claims from a high-ranking SOCIT source that police members are juggling a high number of difficult cases at a time.

Mr Gatt said SOCIT resourcing concerns were not limited to Ballarat – with units across the state facing an increasing demand.

“The highly demanding nature and volume of the work our SOCIT members perform across the state, with limited resources, is placing a great strain on them,” Mr Gatt said. 

“This is one of the reasons why the Police Association has for the past three years been agitating for a substantial boost to police numbers.” 

Latest Crime Statistics Agency data published this month suggest surge in reports of historical sex abuse cases may be behind the increase, with Ballarat offences rising from 227 in 2012 to 569. Data released showed a 26.2 per cent rise in the number of sexual offences in Ballarat during 2016 compared to a statewide 9.1 per cent increase.

Mr Gatt said Victoria Police needed to ensure the more than 3000 extra police promised by the state government over a five year period were distributed to units in need including SOCIT.

“Otherwise the extreme workloads our members at these offices are required to sustain will be unsustainable,” Mr Gatt said.

Former Bendigo SOCIT detective Narelle Fraser, who realised she was experiencing PTSD after spending two days watching more than 1700 videos of child abuse, said police in this area needed more support.

“It is relentless. You have to deal with the emotion, the trauma,” Ms Fraser said. 

“You are dealing with emotions all the time, they are really traumatised and you have to remain strong.” 

Superintendent Andrew Allen said SOCIT operates with an appropriate staffing model for their workload as allocated across all divisions. 3000 extra police will be deployed across the state over five years.