[8] A couple of years after the first Europeans settled there, in September 1836 the area around Melbourne, known as the District of Port Phillip, became part of the colony of New South Wales.

In the 1980s and 1990s allegations were made against most Australian police forces of corruption and graft, culminating in the establishment of several Royal Commissions and anti-corruption watchdogs.

[30] Related criticisms emerged after the 2008 killing of Tyler Cassidy by Victoria Police officers, which was partly blamed on inadequate training.

In later years, numerous edits were made to the Wikipedia article about the killing from police computers, in an attempt to give a more favourable impression of the officers' conduct and the subsequent investigation.

[32] In early 2007, Don Stewart, a retired Supreme Court judge, called for a royal commission into Victorian police corruption.

[34] In June 2011, Overland announced his decision to resign prematurely with effect from 1 July 2011 over what many assume were the allegations of corruption, the ombudsman criticism and the government pressure.

[38] On 29 December 2014, Lay announced he was stepping down as the chief commissioner of Victoria Police after three years of service, taking leave until his resignation took effect on 31 January 2015.

[45] In September 2017, Transport Accident Commission (TAC) notified Victoria Police of "anomalies" in the preliminary breath tests statistics data.

During World War II, Victoria Police issued anti-shrapnel steel helmets, also referred as "tin hats".

In 1963, a white pith helmet with a puggaree hatband and a hand-held radio were added to the Victoria Police general duties officers.

The uniform for females featured a knee-length skirt, a button-up jacket, a shirt and tie, tights, and peak hats made to fit a lady's hairstyle.

The changes were mainly as needed based for the general duties policing, with the addition of capsicum sprays, handgun, baton, etc.

[64][58] There are a number of other penalties that a police officer benefits, including civilian clothing, camping out, uniform allowance, daily meals or attendance to court, courses, trips away from home, etc.

Leading senior constables are now capable of being upgraded to acting sergeant and it is expected that the position is one that people will move through as they are promoted.

[76] During the COVID-19 response by Victoria Police, PSOs duties included hotel quarantine, interstate border checks and patrols of businesses in commercial retail precincts.

Victoria Police started a roll-out of a new uniform design in June 2013 for sworn members, protective service officers, reservists and recruits.

Other holsters can be added to the belt to suit members duties such as a clip to hold the polycarbonate baton or mag light.

Officers are issued with the Smith & Wesson M&P semi-automatic pistol and also carry an ASP brand 21-inch expandable baton, Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Spray, handcuffs and small torch.

[30][100][101] Nixon was placed in a precarious position as police operational decisions including equipment are made independent of government.

In September 2007, months after the Bracks Labor government had been re-elected, Nixon set up an Independent Expert Advisory Panel to advise her if the revolver needed replacing.

The police association erroneously informed the media the officer had been shot whilst re-loading and called for semi-automatic pistols.

[105] The roll-out of the new personal issue firearm commenced in November 2010 with all officers required to complete a four-day training course over 18 months.

[107][108][109] The rifles will be issued to the Public Order Response Team (PORT) and four 24-hour regional uniform stations – Geelong, Ballarat, Morwell and Shepparton to be securely stored in vehicles.

[107] The Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) are both issued with the SIG MCX SBR rifle and a variety of shotguns.

[115] Victoria Police's fleet comprises a wide range of different vehicles including Mercedes, Volkswagen, Hyundai, BMW, and Tesla.

Victoria Police's general duties fleet now mainly uses SUVs including the new Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Kluger.

VICPOL's main frontline response vehicle is their divisional 'divvy' van based on the Ford Ranger that replaced the Holden Colorado from 2021.

[118][119] A small number of the Colorado 'divvy' vans located in country areas were four door 4x4 and were equipped with a bull bar and winch.

[122] The significant works include:[123] In 2015, a A$30 million purpose-built Operational Tactics and Safety Training (OTST) facility opened in Craigieburn.

Police complete compulsory OTST training twice a year to maintain their skills in conflict resolution, defensive tactics and arrest scenarios.