Yasmin Catley blames Coalition, Paul Toole for missing police vests

Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Dean Smith says an unspecified “number” of protective vests are identified as being unaccounted for after going missing from police stockpiles.

Yasmin Catley has blamed former Coalition Police Minister Paul Toole for the ballistic vests missing from NSW Police stockpiles.

It comes as NSW Police were forced to confirm that an unspecified “number” of vests unaccounted for, and have seemingly not been recovered.

The NSW Police force discovered that it had lost the vests two years ago, after a statewide audit.

In a statement issued online on Friday, Acting Deputy Commissioner Dean Smith said that “a number of vests were identified as being unaccounted for” in the audit, and “a number of deficiencies were identified”.

The audit was launched into “overt ballistic vests” issued to commands in 2012, in addition to “integrated light armour” vests and “covert light armour” vests issued to individual officers in 2017.

Mr Smith said that the NSW Police’s “asset Management Unit” had been tasked with updating “management processes” for ballistic vests.

Am ‘unspecified’ number of vests are missing. Picture: NSW Police

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission was given the outcome of the audit, and details about how vests are managed.

“LECC advised the NSWPF they were satisfied with the measures and strategies put in place by the NSWPF.”

Police Minister Yasmin Catley told The Daily Telegraph “the vests went missing under the watch of the former government including when Paul Toole was Minister.”

Ms Catley also confirmed police would be “conducting another audit in the near future.”

The revelations come days after upper house MP Rod Roberts used a speech in parliament to allege that up to “1000 vests (had) gone missing and (were) unaccounted for.”

“These vests are prohibited weapons under the act. They are gone.”

Mr Roberts said this afternoon: “this is a public safety issue. Where are these vests? Who has them? Are they in the hands of gangsters, organised crime … who knows? The police needed to keep these vests under tight lock and key. This is an absolute disgrace.”