The use of armed guards on all Melbourne train platforms is facing fresh scrutiny amid concerns the policy is expensive, inflexible and poorly targeted.
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Victorian Auditor-General John Doyle is to conduct a sweeping audit examining whether putting two protective services officers on every train platform from 6pm until the last train has been a sensible use of public money to tackle crime and improve public transport patronage.
"This audit will examine the effectiveness of the deployment of PSOs, and the actions necessary to optimise future deployment," the audit office's annual plan says.
It follows a series of incidents suggesting an excessive use of force by some of the officers, with critics also claiming the policy should target crime hotspots, rather than providing blanket cover for all stations.
Police Minister Wade Noonan said the government had "no plans" to the change the current deployment model for PSOs.
However, the audit, to be conducted in coming months, raises the possibility the recommendations could lead to a future overhaul.
Victoria Police has been charged with deploying PSOs to 212 Melbourne stations and four regional stations, costing about $212 million over four years, before factoring in money spent on the extra infrastructure required on train platforms.
Assessing the policy has been difficult because of a lack of comprehensive information. Figures released by the Productivity Commission earlier this year show that in 2013-14, 23.5 per cent of Victorians felt "safe" on public transport after dark, down from 24.2 per cent the previous year, and down from 2008-09, when 28 per cent of Victorians said they felt safe.
However, over the past five years there has also been a slight decrease in the proportion of Victorians who felt "unsafe" using trains, trams and buses after dark.
A 2009 study by the Public Transport Users Association found 45 per cent of assaults on railway stations happened at just 10 locations, and about half of the assaults occurred in the daytime, when no officers are present.
Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said it was time to examine the extent to which the policy had contributed to an increase in public transport patronage at night.
"It is obviously a very expensive initiative placing PSOs on every station, even those where little or no crime occurs," Mr Bowen said.
