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Tom Whitford

Tom Whitford is our regional and rural Victoria reporter. Based out of the Goulburn Valley, he covers everything from country road tolls to the policing challenges facing small towns and Aboriginal communities across the state. He is a third-generation farmer and a volunteer firefighter.

Regional Victoria
Tom WhitfordMay 6, 2026
0
Crime in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat: the data behind the headlines
CSA data on Victoria's three biggest regional centres, alcohol-related assault patterns, family-violence trends, and what the headlines often miss.
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Regional Victoria
Tom WhitfordMay 6, 2026
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Policing the regions: how Victoria’s regional commands operate
Victoria Police's regional structure, single-officer stations, response-time challenges, and how country policing differs from metropolitan work.
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Regional Victoria
Tom WhitfordMay 6, 2026
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Country roads, country toll: regional Victoria’s road safety crisis
Why regional Victoria's per-capita road toll is far higher than metropolitan Melbourne, the worst stretches of country highway, and what…
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Public Safety
Tom WhitfordMay 6, 2026
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Bushfire and emergency response in Victoria: the agencies and how they coordinate
CFA, FRV, Forest Fire Management Vic, Emergency Management Victoria, fire danger ratings and the post-Black Saturday reforms.
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Missing Persons
Tom WhitfordMay 6, 2026
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The long-term missing: Victoria’s most enduring cases
How cases become long-term missing, the Missing Persons Squad cold-case work, unidentified-remains casework, and how the public can help.
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Missing Persons
Tom WhitfordMay 6, 2026
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Missing persons in Victoria: the system, the squad, and how appeals work
The Missing Persons Squad, when to report, busting the 24-hour myth, the role of media appeals, and support for families.
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Public Safety
Tom WhitfordApril 25, 2026
0
Bushfire arson investigations in Victoria: how the Arson and Explosives Squad does its work
How Victoria Police's Arson and Explosives Squad investigates bushfire-arson, and what the most recent fire season showed.
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Public Safety
Tom WhitfordMarch 18, 2026
Yoorrook’s justice recommendations: what’s been delivered and what hasn’t
A 2026 progress check on the implementation of the Yoorrook Justice Commission's recommendations.
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Missing Persons
Tom WhitfordMarch 12, 2026
Long-running missing-person searches: what families face when a case stays open
When a missing-person case stays open for years, the strain on families is profound. We look at what they face.
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Public Safety
Tom WhitfordMarch 11, 2026
Aboriginal deaths in custody in Victoria: where Yoorrook and the Royal Commission’s recommendations stand
A 2026 progress check on the Yoorrook Justice Commission's findings on Aboriginal deaths in custody and policing.
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