Sgt Cummins, who expects more police to be available in the next few weeks, could not comment in detail about complaints of police shortages in Daylesford.

He said officers were always available.

"We make do with what we've got," he said.

Concerns were highlighted by the fact that local police were not at the scene of the serious motorcycle crash on the Daylesford-Glenlyon Rd on January 7.

The first police to arrive came from Trentham.

Sgt Cummins said the station was resourced as a 16-hour station with 24 hour coverage using on call members.

"We respond to all jobs. Occasionally we share with Creswick and Trentham."

The 2005 Victoria Police Annual Report revealed that 334 full-time equivalent police members joined the force in the last three years.

Shadow minister for police and emergency services Kim Wells welcomed the Victoria Police's plan to implement a more effective and efficient police resource allocation but says it would not solve the problem of police shortages.

"There is a genuine fear within Victoria Police and the community that under the Bracks Government's mismanagement the new staffing model will simply be a case of having to `rob Peter to pay Paul' because of inadequate

frontline police numbers," he said.