Police Minister rules out forcing protesters to pay for police resourcing costs as new figures reveal 8465 cops called to rallies
New figures have revealed the huge toll weekly Pro-Palestine protests in Sydney’s CBD is taking on NSW Police resources.
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New figures have revealed the huge toll weekly pro-Palestine protests in Sydney’s CBD are taking on NSW Police resources – but the state’s police minister has ruled out calls for organisers to help foot the bill for policing the events.
A total of 8465 officers were deployed to safeguard 17 weekly rallies that were held in the CBD between October and until the end January.
Protest organisers have vowed to continue staging weekly protests until an “end to occupation of Palestine”.
On Sunday, the Palestine Action Group will hold their 24th consecutive Sunday rally in Hyde Park following smaller protests held this week outside the NSW parliament building and the Egyptian consulate.
Figures detailing the police resources allocated to the protests show 1063 officers were deployed to a single rally in October last year, while a further eight protests needed more than 500 officers.
Police resources deployed to protests have involved multiple units including incident management teams, crowd control officers, public order operatives, dog and mounted units and traffic police.
In January, an average of 258 officers were tasked with maintaining the peace at each protest. Figures have yet to be publicly released for police numbers deployed to rallies during February and March.
The level of police resources deployed to the rallies has drawn concern from the police union, with fears it is leaving the force stretched at a time when it is grappling with a shortage of officers.
There have also been calls by the state opposition to make protest organisers contribute to the cost of policing under a “user pays” system similar to arrangements for events such as concerts or sporting events.
Police Minister Yasmin Catley told parliament that she has not made any representations to protest organisers regarding contributing to the overall cost of policing the protests.
It is understood Commissioner Karen Webb has also not made any similar requests.
A spokeswoman for Ms Catley said the government would not support “user pays”.
“Our police deal with protests – professionally and expertly – many times every week,” she said.
“The priority of police is to provide a safe environment for those attending public gatherings and the wider community. For that they deserve our thanks, not meddling.”
The release of figures comes after Premier Chris Minns previously called on the federal Government to assist the state government in covering the cost of policing major protests.
Police Association president Kevin Morton has expressed frustration at the level of police resources deployed to protests.
“Burnout is a major concern, with our workforce still managing an intense workload while being significantly understaffed,” he said.
“(We have) advocated strongly ... a user pays system to alleviate the workload.”
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