Police union appeals for help as resources stretched to the limit guarding medi-hotels

Police officers should be removed from guarding medi-hotels and replaced with civilians to alleviate chronic resource shortages, according to the police union.

Police are battling chronic frontline shortages and an inability to investigate some crimes because officers are guarding COVID-19 medi-hotels, the union warns.

The SA Police Association has asked the state government to hire up to 200 extra protective security officers to allow police to get back on the beat.

And Police Commissioner Grant Stevens concedes his force’s current response is unsustainable as the pandemic overwhelms frontline resources.

Hundreds of police officers are being used daily to keep watch over the state’s five quarantine and medi-hotel facilities, resulting in serious staff shortages in many frontline areas.

The police union has lodged a formal dispute notice with SA Police over shortages in the southern districts.

Police and medical staff around the Peppers Waymouth Hotel in Adelaide. Picture: Matt Turner.

Meetings have been held over the problem.

“Our members are saying there is such a shortage on some shifts that if they called for emergency assistance there would not be any,” SA Police Association president Mark Carroll told The Advertiser.

“(We are) being contacted daily about the lack of members in the field on response and performing district policing team functions, which essentially means crime is not being investigated as promised under the new policing model.

“We have victim-related crime to police, domestic violence incidents to attend, serious crimes to investigate.

“Sitting at medi-hotels is not a police function.

“We are not asking for more sworn police officers, we are asking for the existing officers to be able to go back and do the jobs they need to do.’’

Mr Carroll said up to 200 extra protective security officers were “urgently needed’’ to enable police officers on COVID-19 duties to be put back on to the frontline.

SA Police Association President Mark Carroll.

Treasurer Rob Lucas.

Mr Stevens said SA Police’s current response was unsustainable and revealed he was having discussions with the government about returning police officers “back to core duties”. “I fully accept we have been stretched from a resourcing point of view because of COVID-19,’’ he said.

“What we are doing today is not something that we can continue doing in the long term.’’

Mr Stevens said that last year he had secured extra funding for more police and protective security officers, and had employed 39 SES members to help with the COVID-19 response. More than 100 civilian employees were also involved.

“I have been in discussions with SA Health and government regarding being able to redirect police officers back to core duties but this will not happen overnight,’’ he said.

Mr Stevens also acknowledged the work police officers were doing responding to COVID-19 was “not traditional police work’’ and was now affecting the workforce.

“We have a once in 100-year global pandemic that has put everybody to the test, and it is our core responsibility to ensure community safety,’’ he said.

In recent weeks, rank-and-file officers across the metropolitan area have lodged hazard and incident reports because of the staff shortages.

The reports detail instances in which just one or two patrols have been available on some shifts, the health effect on officers because of these shortages and, in some cases, how district policing teams have been “rendered useless’’ because of depleted numbers.

Mr Carroll wrote to Mr Stevens a fortnight ago stating the “lack of frontline resources at Southern District is now at a critical point”.

The letter highlighted numerous instances of shortages, including one last month in which staffing levels were “totally exhausted’’, there was no ability to respond to any taskings and there were no additional resources available in the metropolitan area to assist. Mr Carroll said senior police needed to urgently review the district policing model because the number of officers needed to make it work were not available at a time when resources were being diverted to COVID-19 duties.

“The medi-hotels look like being here for at least another 18 months. This is not a police officer’s role and we simply cannot go on like this,’’ he said.

“The medi-hotels look like being here for at least another 18 months. This is not a police officer’s role and we simply cannot go on like this.’’ Picture: Emma Brasier.

“Because of the commitment to medi-hotels, the district policing model is not working as it was designed to do. We are chasing our tails out there.’’

In the second phase of the district policing model, 48 teams were created to tackle repeat offenders and the causes of crime in the suburbs. Shortages have resulted in members being forced to handle response taskings in numerous areas.

Mr Stevens said there were workplace concerns about the second phase of the model but felt it had not been given the opportunity to function as planned because it started “just two days after the emergency declaration” last March.

“Our goal is to return our resources to their substantive positions, which is when we will start to monitor the implementation and success of the district policing teams,’’ he said.

Up to 340 police officers are involved in COVID-19 operations most weeks but it peaked at 600 when border checkpoints and other restrictions were in place. When the pandemic was in its infancy last year, the government committed funds to recruit an extra 72 police and 54 protective security officers to help initial resourcing pressures.

Up to 340 police officers are involved in COVID-19 operations most weeks but it peaked at 600 when border checkpoints and other restrictions were in place. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The last of the protective security officers graduate next week and the final tranche of the new police recruits graduates in January. Mr Stevens said he “had never been more proud’’ of police officers, public servants and protective security officers’ ability to adapt to the COVID-19 response.

“I know they’ve foregone leave, they’ve worked extra hours in difficult circumstances, and I think this has enhanced their reputation in the community,’’ he said.

“I know people are experiencing fatigue, I know there is a demand for our resources and we are doing everything we can to ensure our people are OK, that we fulfil our current obligations to COVID and that we get back to traditional policing activities as quickly as possible.’’

Mr Carroll said the shortages had been exacerbated with officers now tasked to actively enforce the use of QR codes, which the union also believed was not a police role.

“You cannot police your way out of a pandemic. Police should not be forcing people to check in to every shop. Having police running around doing this is embarrassing for the police profession,’’ he said.

“There should be self-regulation of this managed by SA Health, it is not a police role. It is policing by fear and the image of police is suffering because of this. There needs to be a better system.’’

Treasurer Rob Lucas said the government would consider all submissions and announce decisions in next month’s budget.

“The Government has already committed $64.4m in 2020/21 in additional funding to SA Police as part of the state’s COVID response, which includes 54 temporary protective security officers,’’ he said.