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What do I need to know?
To begin, you will need to know the approximate year of employment or appointment. Once you've ordered records covering the relevant period, the more information you have about the person you are looking for, the easier your search will be.
How do I search?
Type a year range of employment into the search boxes below.
About these records
There is no single, consolidated record of service for each officer. The records have mostly been created on either an annual basis, or some other regular timeframe, meaning the records about each individual are spread across many records and record types.
The records include muster rolls (a chronological, monthly list of officers in attendance and their duties), information regarding appointments, promotions, resignations, retirements and also salaries to sworn members of the force. You may also find some entries for unsworn members, such as temporary employees.
Victoria Police became a single, integrated police force in 1853. From 1853 onwards, PROV holds only a small selection of records relating to employment within the force up until 1973.
Who created these records?
Next Steps
Order and view the records in PROV's North Melbourne Reading Room.
When browsing the physical records in person, it may be useful to know the name of the police station and the police officer's number.
Useful links
What are in these records?
What you will find in each record will vary depending on the type of record you are looking at. In general, you can expect to find information such as:
- officer's number
- rank
- year of appointment, resignation or promotion
- surname
- duties
- district
- comments in relation to appointments, promotions, resignations and retirement from the police force
TIP! If you can't find what you are looking for, try searching through Records of Victorian public servants as these records also include information about Victoria Police employees.
Material in the Public Record Office Victoria archival collection contains words and descriptions that reflect attitudes and government policies at different times which may be insensitive and upsetting
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware the collection and website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.
PROV provides advice to researchers wishing to access, publish or re-use records about Aboriginal Peoples