REGIONAL towns, train travellers and suburban fringes will be the big winners from the election year battle to boost frontline police numbers.

Undercover police and uniformed officers will ride "most" late night trains as part of the Brumby government's $673 million Budget splash on cops, the Herald Sun reports.

And the first wave of officers have been earmarked to boost struggling undermanned police stations in the crime hot spots of the outer suburbs and regional cities of Geelong, Warrnambool and Ballarat.

In his first major election year pitch for votes, Premier John Brumby pledged to put almost 2000 extra frontline police officers on the streets over the next five years to help curb violence in Victoria.

The plan includes:

  • MORE than 600 extra frontline officers in 2010-11.
  • A $560 MILLION boost to recruit 1700 new frontline police over five years.
  • AN EXTRA $62.3 million over five years to reduce delays in the court system, including hiring new judges.

Mr Brumby said the biggest single boost to Victoria Police was needed to show the thugs and hoons who is boss.

"We are doing it because our liveability is so important to our state," Mr Brumby said.

"Driving down alcohol-fuelled violence is important to our state. Tackling knife crime and the knife culture is so important."

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu accused the government of playing "catch-up" by copying the Coalition's plan announced earlier this month to boost police by 1600 over four years.

"John Brumby and Labor are panicking," Mr Baillieu said.

"John Brumby has matched our plan but we will also put an additional 940 Victoria Police protective services officers on all metropolitan and major regional train stations after dark."

Mr Brumby said many of the new police would ride the rails.

"On most of the trains at night there will be a police presence," Mr Brumby said.

Several meetings with Chief Commissioner Simon Overland were held in the lead-up to the announcement.

Mr Overland declined to say how many police he had requested but said the number provided allowed him to set up Victoria Police for the future.

Read more on the Herald Sun.