Tasmania Police officer concerned with staffing levels on the road

After a horror year on our roads Tasmania Police said they’re about to have a “higher level of visibility”, but a frustrated officer has made the bombshell claim staffing numbers are about to be stripped. SPECIAL REPORT>>>

With fatal crashes continuing to pile up and Tasmania Police stating they’re about to have a “higher level of visibility”, a frustrated officer has made the bombshell claim staffing numbers are about to be stripped from the unit which handles road safety.

In light of the 26 deaths on the state’s roads this year, Deputy Commissioner Donna Adams announced on Wednesday police would increase their presence from July 1.

“The model will also include a dedicated highway patrol. It is clear we need to have a higher level of visibility on our roads and including our rural roads,” Dep. Com. Adams said.

Though a serving officer has questioned this statement and claimed the Road and Public Order Services (RPOS) unit, which looks after traffic, crash investigation, road safety, licensing and public order, is being halved in numbers.

“Quite rightly the bosses have come out and said we need to do something, but they actually aren’t,” the officer told The Mercury.

“What they’re doing is a contrast to what they’re saying. They’re actually halving the numbers.

“They’ll say ‘we’re going to do awesome traffic work’, but what they’ve got is loads less people doing traffic work.

“The public would be shocked to know how little police are working. It’s a concern.”

Scene of a double fatality crash on Brinktop Road between Penna and Richmond. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The officer said Tasmania Police had 64 people working in the RPOS unit, with 20 of them in the road safety division, which is set to increase to 32 in July.

The officer said the other 32 members of RPOS would go into the “Uniform Branch”, or general duties, between the Glenorchy, Bridgewater, Bellerive and Hobart stations.

The officer said the majority of the 64 officers in RPOS currently did road policing, along with some also looking after public order issues at Hobart’s waterfront and city malls.

A spokeswoman for Tasmanian Police said the officer’s claim of 64 becoming 32 wasn’t accurate, and added the new model was still being figured out.

“They’re getting rid of people who do both, so there’s actually going to be less road police,” the disgruntled officer said.

“Public order responsibility has been removed completely as well.

“Years ago it was out of control down there (at the waterfront on a Friday and Saturday night) with people getting beaten up all the time.

“But because of the public order it’s a really safe place now. It could change and go back to the way it was.

“We have a lot of problems with kids around the malls, business owners are sick of them.

“Now it will be up to general duty officers to look after public order as well as all their other jobs.”

The restructure means officers will now work four 10-hour shifts a week, instead of five eight-hour shifts, leaving a maximum of eight officers on at any time.

Scene of a double fatality crash on Brinktop Road between Penna and Richmond. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“Over the last two years the resources of the unit were already decimated because of Covid. A lot of the officers had to spend time at the airport,” the officer said.

“So now there’s going to be even less people working without calling people in on overtime.”

The officer said experienced police were concerned poor driver behaviour was drastically on the rise across southern Tasmania.

The officer said drivers were willing to take risks with less police around.

“We’ve noticed a massive increase in drink driving and crashes.

“We used to have drink drivers blow 0.08 or 0.09 prior to the last couple of years because we’ve done such a good job.

“But the trend is upwards now to the point where they’re regularly four or five times over the limit.

“So it’s no surprise to us traffic fatalities are increasing because people don’t have fear of getting caught.”

Tasmania Police Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Higgins said in a statement they had been reviewing their road safety structure since last year.

Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Higgins. Picture: Chris Kidd

“Our current Road and Public Order Services model was formed in 2013 when traffic branches and public order response teams were merged due to austerity measures and a loss of police numbers between 2010 and 2013,” Ass. Comm. Higgins said.

“The new model means ultimately the old public order response teams which were merged to form the three Road and Public Order Services will be moved to 24-hour stations to undertake a range of general duties to better support safe staffing levels.

“The implementation of the new traffic policing model will return dedicated traffic areas to similar staffing numbers prior to the establishment of Road and Public Order Services.

“This best-practice model is based on national research and is informed by other policing jurisdictions.

“It will mean we can have a dedicated highway patrol, and it will allow us to increase our coordinated, large scale, high visibility operations across the state.

“The establishment of Road Policing Services will also improve our ability to undertake intelligence-led, joint road safety operations in rural and regional areas.”