SA Police cuts needless welfare checks, save 13,500 policing hours

SA Police have slashed the amount of time officers spend at unnecessary welfare checks as part of a trial of a new triage system.

SA Police has slashed the amount of time officers spend at superfluous call-outs by 13,500 hours over nine months, early results of an ongoing trial show.

The force, which has for years been struggling to keep pace with demand, has been testing a new triage system that aims to eliminate unnecessary welfare checks and free-up resources to respond to more serious jobs.

SA Police acting assistant commissioner John De Candia said the trial, which began in April last year, has achieved a 41.3 per cent reduction in time spent at welfare checks in the nine months to December.

Figures show that during this time, officers spent 19,137 hours at welfare checks, compared to 32,619 hours during the prior nine months.

“That sort of equates to about 1500 hours a month we’re saving, which then enables us to be more focused on the higher priority and more urgent tasks,” Mr De Candia said.

A police welfare check is when a member of the public or someone from a government agency calls police and asks them to check on the welfare of someone.

SA Police Assistant Commissioner John De Candia. Picture Brett Hartwig

The trial came after police received more than 53,000 welfare check requests in 2022/23, and of these officers were deployed on 33,000 occasions.

Each tasking took an average of two hours and seven minutes.

The Advertiser revealed in April last year that SA Police was testing a new system to cut back on needless call-outs.

The newspaper reported at the time that examples of unnecessary welfare check requests included a parent calling to say their child would not get into their car and they wanted officers to help; as well multiple instances of patients being discharged from hospital with a cannula still attached and officers were asked to bring them back to the hospital or ensure the person has removed it themselves.

Mr De Candia said the decrease in time spent at non-essential welfare checks had helped police focus on more serious call-outs, including mental health-related taskings, which have increased by 30 per cent.

“Had we not implemented the trial for the check on welfare...there would have been even greater strains on our resources to be able to meet the demand that we’ve got,” he said.

He urged people to consider whether officer attendance was really necessary before calling police.

“Before you actually pick up the phone just have a think about...’Is this something that only police can do?’ if not then have a think about what other options are there,” he said.

“You might not have seen your neighbour. Well have you actually gone and knocked on the door and had a look?”

However, Mr De Candia assured members of the public that police would always attend jobs at which they were needed, such as serious crimes, incidents where there is present or imminent danger or there is risk of serious injury.

Mr De Candia said the trial, which was initially scheduled to conclude in August, would now finish at the end of this month, after which it would be evaluated and a decision would be made on whether to continue the new triage system on a permanent basis.

He said SA Police would also consider expanding the trial to other types of call outs.

Originally published as SA Police cuts needless welfare checks, save 13,500 policing hours