September 7, 2018 McGowan Government must prioritise police resourcing Shadow Minister for Police Peter Katsambanis has called on the McGowan Government to swallow its pride and reverse its dangerous decision to take police off the streets and place them behind desks. “This decision was made solely to satisfy a Labor election promise and we have now seen that it is placing our community at risk,” Mr Katsambanis said. “West Australians expect police officers to be ready to respond to serious incidents as soon as possible rather than be stuck behind desks in police stations. “It is totally unacceptable to send police on long drives across the metropolitan area when there are officers available locally but cannot respond because they are tied to their desks because of a politically motivated government directive.” Evidence from the WA Police Union has shown that on most nights the 24-hour police stations in Ellenbrook and Armadale have no late-night public attendances. Mr Katsambanis said this week’s incident in the Armadale region not only highlighted the waste of resources but also raised an alarm about a lack of police availability to respond to life-threatening incidents. “The McGowan Government has made a number of backflips recently, including returning funding to the School of the Air, accepting the need to keep Moora Residential College open, resourcing Community Resource Centres and finally agreeing to trial smart drum lines and they now need to turn their attention to their policing policy,” Mr Katsambanis said. “The Premier and Minister for Police should immediately inform the Police Commissioner that he can fully deploy his scarce police resources in the way he believes will best protect our community rather than having to satisfy the political whims of the Government. “The McGowan Government must get serious about supporting our Police Force. “Premier McGowan reneged on his election promise of a 1.5 per cent pay rise, there has been no legislation for compensation for medically retired police officers, the Commissioner is having to make cuts elsewhere to fund body cameras for frontline officers, is it any wonder morale within the force is at an all-time low. “By returning police officers to the front line they will be able to better respond to serious incidents, improve police morale and keep our community safe.” Media Contact |
