Long-serving police officers offered one-off payments to leave with ‘dignity’

EXCLUSIVE: POLICE will be offered one-off cash payouts to leave after 20 years service under a bold plan to fund an increase in police numbers and reduce the number of officers going off sick.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller is “re-engineering” the force after the retirement of Andrew Scipione. Picture: Brianne Makin

• NEW COMMISSIONER IN BOLD OVERHAUL OF FORCE
• MICK FULLER SET TO MAKE SWEEPING CHANGES

POLICE will be offered one-off cash payouts to leave after 20 years’ service under a bold plan to fund an increase in police numbers, balance the force’s budget and reduce the number of officers going off sick.

The radical proposal would allow officers to leave the force with “dignity’’ and not have to prove they are medically unfit or suffering from stress, bringing NSW in line with other police forces around the world.

Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said the plan to allow officers to leave will be totally voluntary.

“This would be totally voluntary and offer an alternative pathway for officers to exit the force,” Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson said. “It would also give those police who have given 20 years’ service on the front line a way to leave with dignity.”

Over the past five years, the retention rate in the NSW Police Force has skyrocketed after changes were made to the death and disability pensions payouts, which had been referred to as “mortgage busters”.

Since then police have been staying in the job longer, putting pressure on the budget due to increment creep for wages and also reducing promotion opportunities, especially for younger officers.

“It is one of a number of proposals we are looking at to create balance in the organisation,’’ Mr Hudson said.

“The details such as how much the payout would be hasn’t been figured out yet and it is a work in progress.’’

It is understood the plan has the support of the union because it would do away with the need for long-serving officers to prove they are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to get a pension.

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“Often that process is in itself incredibly stressful, which some find demeaning. If you have been in the force for 20 years there should not be a need to prove you have seen horrendous things. It should be a given,’’ one senior officer said.

The force is going through massive changes under new commissioner Mick Fuller who has been given the task of “re-engineering’’ the force after the retirement of Andrew Scipione.

Under Mr Scipione the police budget blew out by $100 million in the past two years and the NSW Treasury is asking for the money back in the way of saving efficiencies.

“Commanders are under pressure to cut costs and you would expect this will hit front-line policing,’’ a senior officer said.