Mounted police warn community safety ‘at risk’ if they are based at proposed Gepps Cross site

A site at Gepps Cross is the proposed new location for SA’s Mounted Operations Unit – but its members have warned if the move proceeds it will jeopardise public safety.

Police horses watch a protest rally walk along King William St protesting against anti protesting laws. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Members of the police mounted operations unit have urged the state government to scrap plans to relocate them to a proposed new site at Gepps Cross, stating it will place public safety at risk.

And they have proposed a new site at Bowden instead be considered that will enable them to respond rapidly to incidents in the city.

The concerns of the MOU members are contained in a letter written on their behalf by Police Association president Mark Carroll to Premier Peter Malinauskas – almost eight weeks after the first chosen site in the South Parklands was scrapped by the government because of concern by parklands protest groups.

The letter also details identical concerns by members of the Dog Operations Unit, who also fear their response times to critical incidents will suffer if they are housed at a Gepps Cross facility, on land at the corner of Grand Junction and Brien Rds.

The letter follows a series of meetings between the union and MOU and DOU members in recent weeks after it emerged a site chosen adjacent Adelaide Airport is likely to be scrapped because of PFAS contamination.

Mark Carroll, President of the Police Association of South Australia. Picture: Supplied

When contacted on Thursday Mr Carroll said “time was running out’’ to find a suitable solution before police had to vacate the Thebarton Barracks in March to allow construction of the new Women’s and Childen’s Hospital to begin.

“People need to come together on this because our members in these two vital operational units have clearly told us that community safety is at risk if they are located in location that prevents them from accessing the CBD rapidly,’’ he said.

“Building the new hospital is clearly about public safety and wellbeing, but so is locating these two vital units within a close distance to the CBD

“Both these units are vital SAPOL assets which will not have the same operational capacity if they are located at Gepps Cross. This, and several other factors, make the proposal ill-considered and not in the best interests of operational members nor the SA community’’.

In June the state government revealed a site adjacent Adelaide Airport would likely become the new home for the police horses after it had scrapped plans to house them on the south parklands because of community opposition.

As part of that plan, which included the back-up site at Gepps Cross, police will also be given a vacant block of land behind the Supreme Court to use as a staging area after transporting the horses into the city.

Premier Peter Malinauskas. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

The five-page letter to Mr Malinauskas states MOU members believe there will be “significant time delays and safety concerns’’ if they are located outside of the CBD.

They include navigating peak hour traffic with horse floats, the time needed to load and unload horses and settling them prior to and post transport and having sufficient vehicles available when needed.

It also details the activity locations for the MOU over the past five years – which reveals the majority of patrols and taskings – 81.7 per cent – have been in the district that covers the CBD.

“It has been well documented that the failed District Policing Model reduced response frontline patrols in the CBD and failed to allocate beat patrols to Hindley St and its surrounds,’’ it states.

“MOU members have been deployed repeatedly in the area owing to their high visibility and expedient deployment.

The police barracks and the Police horses will make way for the new Women's and Children's Hospital. Picture Dean Martin

“A move from the CBD will come at a cost to community safety.’’

The MOU members have asked the government to consider grounds currently used by the Equestrian Federation of SA at Park 27A – the John Brown Park/John Vaughan Park site – adjacent the River Torrens instead of the Gepps Cross location. However, the request is likely to be rejected by the government with all parklands sites understood to be ruled out.

“The site is discrete, being surrounded by established trees and as a compromise to retain MOU in Adelaide.....would support the government’s promise that the service delivery of the unit would not be compromised owing to the building of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital on the Thebarton Barracks site,’’ the letter states.

It also details the concerns of DOU members who believe “the geographical isolation … would greatly reduce the unit’s ability to respond’’ their teams rapidly to incidents in the southern, western and eastern areas of Adelaide.

A government spokesperson said it was working closely to deliver anew home for the MOU.

“Significant investigation is now being undertaken into the Gepps Cross site previously identified by the state government, as the most viable future home for the mounted operations unit’’ the spokesperson said.