Grant Stevens rejects Police Association claims SA Police can’t guarantee public safety on Hindley Street

The number of SAPOL officers patrolling the notorious party strip has plummeted, the police union has warned.

Crime is going unpunished in Hindley St because there are often as few as two officers patrolling the entire party strip during busy weekend periods, forcing those on duty to pick and choose when to make arrests, police sources say.

Meanwhile, the police union is warning officers “can’t guarantee people’s safety anymore” in the notorious precinct.

Police sources have told The Advertiserthe dire shortfall of officers has meant those left patrolling Hindley St are forced to turn a blind eye to some incidents they would ordinarily take action against.

They say this is because making arrests takes officers out of the field – they must take the arrested person to the nearest cell complex for charging and complete the necessary paperwork – leaving the street even more exposed.

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Officers are instead forced to decide whether an incident is worth the risk, often choosing to take no action unless they deem the alleged crime serious enough, it has been claimed.

It is understood prior to 2020 – before the District Policing Model was introduced and Hindley St became part of the Eastern District – there was an average of about four sergeants and 35 patrol members working Hindley St between the busy 3am-daylight period.

Police on Hindley Street on a Friday night in Adelaide. Picture: Morgan Sette

Now Hindley St officers, as part of the Eastern District, are responsible for covering all of the parklands, North Adelaide, Rundle Mall, inner Adelaide suburbs such as Parkside, Fullarton and Hyde Park, as well as Hindley St.

It is understood there is currently an average of one sergeant and 8-10 patrol officers working Hindley St on weekends from 3am.

The Advertiser reported in August that police officers on days off and annual leave were accepting extra shifts to help bolster weekend patrols along Hindley St.

However, the extra officers only work until 3am, leaving the street vulnerable into the early hours of the morning.

Police Association of SA president Wade Burns backed claims as few as two officers were left patrolling Hindley St post-3am on weekends.

“Members tell me there’s often just two police officers patrolling the entire Hindley St precinct (after 3am),” he said.

“It’s not as if crime is down, or the population has decreased, but for some reason we’re running with way fewer police officers in this area than ever before, and paying them the same money to do three times more work.”

Police Association president Wade Burns at the union headquarters. Picture: Supplied

Mr Burns said he personally knew of experienced Hindley St officers who had quit in recent years due to the toll it was taking.

“Our members are telling us that they simply can’t guarantee people’s safety anymore – They’re spread too thing and the workload has intensified,” he said.

“If the government wants to know why people are leaving policing at a rate of knots, look at Hindley St. It’s a microcosm of the wider problem.”

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the idea that safety could not be guaranteed appeared to be the view of individual officers and was “not the general view of SAPOL”.

“A strong presence is maintained (in Hindley St) on Friday and Saturday nights, and this is increased during major events and other periods of peak demand,” he said.

“SAPOL has the ability to surge resources into Hindley Street and environs if there are particular concerns regarding public safety.”

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. Picture: Dean Martin

Mr Stevens acknowledged that Hindley St “can be a volatile environment due to the number of patrons at peak times combined with the sale of alcohol” but he said it was no different to entertainment precincts in any other capital city.

“SAPOL meet quarterly with stakeholders such as the City of Adelaide and Hindley Street traders at City Safe meetings and attention is given to issues concerning Hindley Street safety,” he said.

“SAPOL’s initiatives, in conjunction with traders and state government initiatives such as the lock out laws and the Declared Public Precinct laws have been successful in reducing alcohol-fuelled violence and other behavioural-related offending in the CBD precinct.”

Mr Steven said police resourcing challenges had been “widely ventilated for some time” and multiple accelerated recruitment campaigns were underway to address the issue.

This comes at a time when demand for police services continues to rise, Mr Stevens said.

Police Minister Dan Cregan said while SA was responding to the same recruitment challenges felt nationwide, the state had more frontline officers per capita than any other state and one of the lowest attrition rates in the country.

Opposition police spokesman Jack Batty called on the government to urgently boost police resources in the CBD.

“It’s absurd that Labor seems to think that Hindley Street crime stops at 3am,” he said.