The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that Victoria Police – in collaboration with the community and the emergency management sector – reflect on events of the 2019-20 fire season to review and enhance evacuation plans and processes with consideration of:
a) high risk areas (including remote locations)
b) early evacuation triggers
c) the potential for isolated communities
d) the presence of tourists and non-residents
e) individual decisions to not evacuate
f) the inability to evacuate
g) consequence management and compounding events such as the loss of essential services or health impacts.
Victoria Police will look at creating a cadre of specially trained personnel equipped to undertake evacuation and traffic management roles required in an emergency, to ensure evacuation and early departure from at-risk areas occurs seamlessly.
In October 2021 SCRC approved a revised due date for this action of November 2022. It also noted a change of scope from creating a 'cadre' of specially trained personnel to training a larger group of specialists to cover the whole state.
VicPol continued to provide training for specialty roles related to evacuation and traffic management across 2021–22.
This included:
- 242 officers completing Incident Police Operations Centre (IPOC) training (with a total of 286 officers now qualified across the state)
- 90 officers completing evacuation and traffic management manager training (with a total of 558 officers now qualified across the state).
VicPol advised that it continues to deliver IPOC, evacuation and traffic management training throughout the regions and that its response to training will evolve as its emergency management capability continues to mature.