‘Naive and, quite frankly, irresponsible’: Police Commissioner and police union clash over roster rollout in rural areas

The Police Commissioner and the police union have clashed over one of the key promises made the administrative agreement.

SA police union president Wade Burns and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens have clashed over the slow rollout of key roster changes in rural cop stations.

Letters obtained by The Advertiser reveal a heated exchange between the police heads on February 25 and 26, debating the need for a “steering committee” to oversee the implementation of an updated working roster for regional officers.

Following the signing of the ‘administrative arrangement’ at the end of last year, SA Police agreed they would implement a Response Extended Hours Roster within 24/7 regional general duties officers – ditching rosters where cops worked seven night shifts in a row

Instead, the new roster would allow rural officers to work six days-on – two days, two evenings and two nights – and four days-off, as well as benefit from a 23 per cent loading on top of their base salary.

The roster was introduced in metro areas in November 2024 but is yet to be rolled out in county stations.

Police Association president Wade Burns said the “steering committee” was “yet another example of that excessive bureaucracy” within SA Police. Picture: Supplied

In a letter to Mr Stevens, Mr Burns said the roll out was taking too long and the establishment of an Extended Hours Rosters Project steering committee was “yet another example of that excessive bureaucracy”, which continued to “obstruct decision-making ability”.

“Given the REHR has already undergone years of trialling (in metro areas), the decision to implement even more analysis, more trials and more external consultation is, quite frankly an obstructive action,” he wrote.

“This approach will, undoubtedly, delay the expansion of the REHR into country locations, at a time we can least afford such delays, given the understaffing, recruiting and retention issues in regional locations.”

In response, Mr Stevens penned a letter arguing they couldn’t fast-track the implementation of the updated rostering without a proper consultation period due to resourcing and safety concerns.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said it would be “naive and quite frankly irresponsible” to implement an extended hours roster in the regions without a trial. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

“It would be naive, and quite frankly, irresponsible to implement an extended hours roster in the regions without ensuring due diligence and appropriate governance for a project of this scope and importance,” he said.

“Resources are finite and SAPOL will not recklessly implement such a significant change without ensuring sound analysis and a thorough appreciation of the initiatives, as well as identifying the impacts of such a change.

“Without proper analysis and planning, it is likely to create resourcing gaps across 24/7 shifts that will impact the wellbeing of staff, as well as increasing the risk to their safety.”

In a statement to The Advertiser, Mr Burns said he was concerned history would repeat itself.

He said it took SA Police eight years to permanently implement the new roster in metro areas and didn’t want regional officers waiting for years on end.

On Wednesday morning, Mr Stevens addressed media in relation to updating regional rosters.

Mr Stevens said their plan was to “identify the appropriate rosters” then “consult with that workforce on their views in relation to a couple of options” before implementing the change immediately.

“We’re talking about $4 million a year for an alternative rostering model – the funding will be made available – but we need to be specific and precise in relation to what we advise government,” he said.

This comes after The Advertiser revealed another war of words between the police heads over SAPOL’s controversial policing model.

Originally published as ‘Naive and, quite frankly, irresponsible’: Police Commissioner and police union clash over roster rollout in rural areas