Ken Glare, who led the force from 1987 until 1992, said Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent will face a lengthy battle to raise morale across ranks and fight pressing crime issues.
"There was so much dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction with the quality of leadership, that members are just leaving in droves," Mr Glare told AAP on Friday.
Victoria Police was hit with two leadership shake-ups in the past week with Chief Commissioner Shane Patton resigning on Sunday following a no-confidence vote by rank and file officers.
Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson, whose role will officially end when his contract expires in July, went on leave from Thursday.
"Whether Nugent takes over or someone else, they will have a Herculean task to turn it around, because without finance, without getting the numbers up to a reasonable level of force, they're coming from a very low base, so it is going to take time," Mr Glare said.
"It's at such a low end when you have, as I understand, over 800 members on sick leave. That's a symptom of something radically wrong."
He went on to pinpoint Victoria's tobacco wars, which has involved dozens of cigarette shops being set on fire over the past year, as a particular cause for policing concern.
"The premises are easily identified. I don't understand why there hasn't been an enforcement effort made, because when police walk to the premises the evidence is sitting on the shelves and under the counter. A lot more done can be done," he said.
"When people can buy 60 cigarettes for $15 instead of $50 it's not surprising they turn to the illegal product."
Earlier this week, police confirmed the death of Katie Tangey, who was killed in an arson in a case of mistaken identity in January, was linked to the tobacco disputes.
Mr Paterson's exit comes after 37 years in the force.
"Neil has been a strong advocate of many issues and has dedicated so much of his life to policing," Mr Nugent said on Friday.
Mr Paterson had oversight of regional operations along with the state emergencies and support command.
In November, he was referred to the state's anti-corruption commission, over an alleged road rage incident outside the city campus of Haileybury, a private school, in July last year.
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigated whether Mr Paterson misused his position and authority during a verbal altercation and subsequent correspondence with a school parent.
Victoria Police is required by law to refer complaints against officers with a rank of assistant commissioner and above to IBAC.
Last week, of the 14,571 Police Association union members who voted on the no-confidence motion, more than 12,600 - or 87 per cent - said Mr Patton could not lead the force anymore.
The leadership upheaval comes in the shadow of a months-long wage dispute, during which police members rejected a pay rise offer of 18 per cent over four years.
Later, a tentative deal involving frontline officers receiving a five per cent a year raise for four years and other officers 4.5 per cent a year over the same period, was struck by the union.
It was short of the initially sought 24 per cent pay increase over four years.
Opposition spokesman for police David Southwick said Mr Paterson's departure was a symptom of the state's ongoing battle against youth crime.
"The Allan Labor government's crime crisis blame game continues following confirmation Premier Jacinta Allan has sacked a second Victoria Police executive within a week," he said.
Statistics released in December showed crimes by children aged 10 to 17 had reached their highest levels in Victoria since 2009.
Teens aged 14 to 17 were responsible for the most child crime, totalling 20,753 incidents.
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