Police campaign for 2500 more cops an election issue
THE Police Association of NSW has released figures showing there’s a secret shortfall. They are called “ghost cops” — the extra police promised to fight crime on the streets but they are missing in action. How does your local police station rate? FIND OUT.
NSW
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THEY are called “ghost cops” — the extra police promised to fight crime on the streets who are missing in action.
The Police Association of NSW has released figures showing there’s a secret shortfall of almost 580 at suburban stations despite an overall increase in the force.
It says the creation of specialist squads has soaked up the additional headcount and ripped local cops away from the beat without funding replacements.
In an indication the union is going to make law and order an election issue, the Association will today launch a campaign called “Back the Blue’’ calling for an extra 2500 police to fill the gaps and keep up with population growth.
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Many of the hot spots for ghost cops are in Sydney’s southwest where population growth is far outstripping the allocation of police resources.
Fairfield has had more than 10,000 immigrants placed in its command in the past 18 months but is currently 15 officers down on what the official headcount stipulates.
Liverpool is 14 officers down and the association points out it has a high crime rate.
Cumberland is 20 officers short and there are also deficits in the inner west (20) and eastern suburbs (19).
“By leaving positions unfilled, we are putting undue pressure on frontline police,’’ said association president Tony King. “We are hearing from members across the state that they are now at breaking point and the government needs to urgently commit to not just addressing the backlog, but building the state’s policing capacity.’’
In an aggressive move, the association is also launching an online petition to lobby Police Minister Troy Grant personally for more cops.
The union accepts the police bosses are often forced to redeploy cops to specialist units dealing with areas such as counter-terrorism, cybercrime or the road toll.
“But it means fewer police on the beat doing the important work within the community. In some areas the number of unfilled positions is in the hundreds — that’s just a recipe for stretching resources,’’ Mr King said.
“With the state’s population growing at more than 50,000 a year we need to invest in new police just to maintain the sort of protection the people of the state expect and deserve.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said he had ordered an investigation into where resources were needed.
“I have tasked my Deputy Commissioners with undertaking an extensive piece of strategic human resource planning which will have a key focus on maintaining the strongest response to crime, and improving our ability to disrupt, and most importantly prevent crime,” he said.
“We can’t afford to take public safety for granted and I’m committed to growing the organisation to ensure we deal with current and emerging crimes.’’
The state government yesterday defended police numbers saying they have been increased significantly over the past seven years.
“Since 2011, the government has added more than 1000 officers to the police ranks, exceeding our commitment to increase the authorised strength of the NSW Police Force to a record 16,795,’’ said acting Police Minister Mark Speakman.
“This year we delivered a record $3.9 billion budget for the police in 2018/19 — and the deployment of an additional 100 officers.”
Mr Speakman, who is also Attorney-General, said the Commissioners’ plan would determine the number of officers needed, the duty types required and where they should be based. “Community safety is the government’s top priority and we will always give police the right tools to do their job,” he said.