Craig Elliot slams Geoff Provest for measly share of graduating cops heading to the Tweed

If you thought policing numbers in the Northern Rivers were stretched, you weren’t wrong – shocking numbers have revealed the true state of the Tweed’s police crisis.

THE Tweed is in the midst of what critics are calling a police staffing “crisis” prompting fury at the area being allocated one of 257 new cop recruits.

Labor candidate and former policeman Craig Elliot is demanding National MP for Tweed Geoff Provest explain why the district didn’t receive more officers.

The new recruit comes as the Tweed Byron Police Association representative Darren McCaughey has previously claimed the district was 31 officers short.

ALP Candidate for Tweed Craig Elliot

The unveiling of the sole new addition to Tweed’s thin blue line is revealed in a NSW Police Service allocation announcement on Friday.

Mr Elliot said his rival for the March election had failed the community.

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“As a former frontline police officer, I share the community’s disappointment that yet again Geoff Provest has failed to deliver urgently needed extra police to our area,” he said.

“Tweed police do a great job but the cuts to their numbers under the Nationals are hurting locals and putting our police officers unnecessarily in harm’s way. It’s not good enough and I’m serious about fixing the ongoing crisis in local police staffing levels.”

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Tweed MP Geoff Provest and NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Jeff Loy (Northern Region).

Mr Provest said he didn’t want more probationary constables but instead wanted an increase in overall strength and tipped the area to get more than 10 new recruits early next year.

“These probationary constables replace retiring or leaving officers and don’t increase the overall strength,” he said.

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“In the next few months we will be the beneficiary of the extra 1500 new police officers across the state,” he said.

Mr Provest said he had spoken to NSW Police Commissioner and expected an increase to the Tweed Byron Police District by more than 10 officers.

“I am being told this will be announced at the beginning of February,” he said.

“The extra 1500 officers costs the State Government $500 million a year in addition salaries.”

Tweed Byron Police Association representative Mr McCaughey said police were under a lot of pressure on the southern side of the Queensland border.

“We are in a staffing crisis in Tweed Byron Police District and we always welcome additional police,” he said.

“However under the current system, probationary officers don’t come as extra police officers to what is already allocated and that is what we need.”

The three Sydney metropolitan districts received the lion’s share of new recruits with 214 of 257.