The officer, who is based in the Knox municipality, said there was little time for proactive policing and officers had to go from job to job.

"I've heard of every unit being tied up at one point. There's been no response units available from Ringwood, Croydon, Knox, Rowville or Boronia because everyone's tied up.

"Scarily enough, it's happening quite regularly. I'd say three to four times a week."

The officer, who did not wish to be identified, said morale was "going down".

"The van gets flogged and they get no help."

He said the issues of resources came down to politics and money.

"We need more people, but it costs money and things are tight enough already."

A member for nearly a decade, the officer said he had thought about the leaving the force.

"I don't get paid enough to deal with this. I could double my wage if I went into the private sector. It's ridiculous."

While the officer acknowledged that there were recruits going through, he said they were getting funnelled into the city.

"And because there are other areas with more crime than out here, we get kind of forgotten about."

The officer's comments come after a leaked police internal email revealed that "due to acute staff shortages" it had become increasingly difficult to fill night shift commitments.

Knox inspector Terry Kane said the municipality could always do with more police, but it did a good job with the members it had. "Policing is a 24/7 occupation. As a result there is a lot of shiftwork. When there is need for overtime, members are paid for it."

Shadow police minister Peter Ryan said Victoria had the least number of operational police in Australia and was spending the least amount per head on police resourcing.

Government spokesman Chris Owner said there were now more than 1400 extra police on the beat with more on the way. He said Knox had seen an increase of nearly 60 per cent in its police force.