The Mercury, after a speaking with a number of concerned officers, can reveal our state’s men and women who bravely keep us safe are becoming growingly frustrated with a badge they once wore proudly.

Drug dealer’s paradise

Whistleblowers inside the force say they’re concerned about the make-up of the state’s drug squads.

Tasmania Police have a drug investigation services team in each of its three districts; Western, Northern and Southern.

Police sources have told The Mercury the Western drug squad is being disbanded for at least the next three months to help out at the Devonport Criminal Investigation Branch due to a critical shortage in numbers and massive case load.

Sources said the majority of the Southern drug squad have also been removed from the unit for the next three months and been asked to fill staff shortages around 24/7 stations.

Police Commissioner Darren Hine committed to having minimum safe staffing levels at all 24/7 stations in February 2020.

Those levels came into effect in July this year, with sources saying numerous police departments are being stripped of numbers to meet the promised quota.

Assistant Commissioner Operations Jonathan Higgins said drug squads had not been broken up.

“The state’s drug squads have not been disbanded and police work targeting drug offenders, including monitoring of targets and the submission of drug intelligence reports, continues to be carried out across the state,” Mr Higgins said.

“Tasmania Police from time to time reassign resources to respond to priority areas which includes supporting Safe Staffing on 24/7 stations which is an agreed priority for Tasmania Police and the Police Association of Tasmania.”

Sources say despite safe staffing levels being introduced, officers are still under the pump to get through a mounting workload.

It’s understood Glenorchy station is suffering from a staffing problem, with just one sergeant and four constables on at any one time despite a region which requires more feet on the ground according to inside sources.

The Mercury understands Hobart and Bellerive are in similar need of extra bodies to meet demand.

Police sources said the state government had provided $2.5 million a year to backfill the 28 remote police stations, but those positions are being drawn from existing police numbers rather than recruiting police, further gutting numbers at stations and departments under the pump.

Fatalities skyrocket amid restructure

Police officers on the ground also have concerns about the rising road toll across the state.

Tasmania had recorded 36 road fatalities by the end of July, beating the entire death total of 2021 in nearly half the time.

The alarming figure laid bare a major problem sources say has Tasmania Police scrambling to find answers for.

The Mercury reported in May the state’s Road and Public Order Service unit, which looked after traffic, crash investigation, road safety, licensing and public order, was going to be dissolved in July.

At the time a whistleblower said half the staff were remaining in a new dedicated Road Policing Services unit, while the other half were pushed to stations.

The whistleblower warned the restructure meant there may be less police on the streets, as previously all RPOS members contributed to road safety measures.

Tasmania Police recently launched its new highway patrol vehicles and said the reformed Road Policing Unit had 68 members.

The Mercury understands around 100 officers performed road policing duties across the state as part of their role before the restructure occurred.

Mr Higgins defended Tasmania Police’s decision to dissolve RPOS to introduce the Road Policing Services unit.

“After an extensive review of how we police our roads this old model was restructured to form a dedicated Road Policing Services unit in each district,” he said.

“Under the model, which is based on national research and learnings from other jurisdictions, we now have a dedicated highway patrol and improved ability for districts to undertake intelligence-led, joint road safety operations in rural and regional areas.”

Disgruntled officers aren’t surprised with the state’s soaring fatality figure, believing the decision to dissolve RPOS and potentially having less police on the road as part of their job is a step in the wrong direction.

Staff leaving in droves as morale plummets

Sources say staff retention has become a major issue for Tasmania Police, alleging officers are walking out the door in large numbers.

It’s understood it’s been a growing problem for months on end as disgruntled officers head for the exit dissatisfied with a job they once performed passionately.

This alleged issue was denied by Assistant Commissioner Operations Jonathan Higgins.

Sources said the Police Association of Tasmania met recently and have forecast at least 80-100 resignations or retirements from current uniformed officers within the next year.

That number comes off the back of a prolonged period of staff departures due to burnout, job dissatisfaction or retirement.

It’s understood around five members resigned within months of each other to take up roles with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

Mr Higgins said staff were not leaving the force in large numbers and said they were putting a lot of effort into recruitment.

“We have recently worked closely with the Police Association of Tasmania on several important policies such as fatigue management and safe staffing levels, to further enhance the health, safety, and wellbeing of police officers,” he said.

“Tasmania Police continues to recruit aggressively in line with the commitments from government to increase police numbers by 308 additional officers.

“So far this year we have had 54 new police officers graduate from the Police Academy, providing more police officers to the frontline to protect our communities.”

More than four per cent of the force, or 63 officers, are incapacitated and off work and ten per cent, or 140 officers, currently have an open work compensation claim.

Morale has been described as “at an all time low” and “very concerning” as staff throughout Tasmania Police lose faith in the direction the department is heading.

The Mercury reported in June stress leave and mental health related issues had become more prevalent, with staff seeking help in record numbers.

Tasmania Police said at the time it was a good thing officers were speaking up, after the state government committed $3m a year to establish a wellbeing unit in 2020, a move lauded as struggling officers make the most of the resource.

Mr Higgins said morale was “good” among the force and described Tasmania Police as an “employer of choice”.

Nightlife precinct left hanging

When the Road and Public Order Service unit was pulled apart in July, it meant Tasmania Police no longer had a constant presence on Hobart’s waterfront on a Friday and Saturday night.

The public order team was introduced to the party precinct after a plague of serious incidents, with the area now much safer than it was for revellers.

General duty officers at the Hobart station are expected to keep an eye on the waterfront on top of their other duties and emergency callouts.

There’s concern that less presence in Salamanca and along the waterfront on Friday’s and Saturday’s could see a spike in serious assaults and return the precinct to the dark days of the past.

Mr Higgins said the new structure was sufficient.

“There are 84 police officers stationed at Hobart and they undertake foot patrols, including after midnight, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, as a routine activity,” he said.

“These are conducted in entertainment precincts, together with other covert policing strategies aimed at enhancing safety and detecting unlawful behaviour and are ongoing.”

Union hoping things will change

Police Association of Tasmania president Colin Riley acknowledged all of these issues were of a major concern for the officers he represents.

Current Police Commissioner Darren Hine is stepping aside in October, with Assistant Commissioner Donna Adams set to take the reins.

Inspector Riley was optimistic the incoming Commissioner could sort out the problems.

“Commissioner Donna Adams has been in Tasmania Police for 35 years and knows and understands the problems in detail,” Inspector Riley said.

“Donna has had time to build mitigation plans and we eagerly await the opportunity to collaborate on those to advance solutions.”

Police Minister speaks

New Police Minister Felix Ellis was asked how can Tasmania Police be struggling to fill holes across the force when the government continually claim they are increasing officer numbers.

“The Government is providing 329 additional police officers for Tasmania Police, which will take them to the highest establishment in history of 1,449 police by 2026,” he responded.

“The Commissioner of Police is responsible for the operational allocation of these police officers.”