Page 181 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 9 February 2022
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That is because of a lack of resources. The minister is trying to spin it another way and say, “No, it’s just improvements in policing and efficiencies,” and so on. That is not what the CPO said, members. Let me quote what he said. On the radio, the Chief Police Officer said:
Resources are tight, as they are in every sector, so we find this is going to be more efficient.
We will be less responsive—
I repeat: we will be less responsive—
to some of the property crime than we have been in the past.
We already have the lowest clearance rates for property crime in Australia—car theft, break and enters, other theft. We have the lowest clearance rates in Australia. Now we are going online and the Chief Police Officer said it is because of resources and “we will be less responsive”. He continued:
Over the next 12 months, ACT Policing would be introducing an online reporting system in place of having an officer attend a person’s home.
Instead of having a police officer attend, you put something online. My understanding from his answer in question time yesterday was that the minister said this has not started rolling out yet. What I would say is: don’t go down that path. Give the police the resources they need to do their job so that they do not have to do what the Chief Police Officer said and be less responsive—less responsive to already the worst clearance rates in Australia.
I again reiterate my support for ACT police. I reiterate my support for their association and the work that they do. This is not about our great police; this is about resources. It started when this government, this Labor-Greens coalition government, cut $15.36 million out of ACT Policing in the 2013-14 budget. That is a massive cut out of an organisation that is already struggling with population growth and complexity in our system.
The Canberra Times, on the release of this latest ROGS, reported:
The consistent issue of policing numbers in the territory was again highlighted by the report, which revealed that the ACT has the lowest number of operational staff per 100,000 people at 219. NSW, by comparison, has 244 operational officers per 100,000 population.
The Australian Federal Police Association has consistently raised the issue of inadequate policing numbers as an issue, pointing to how this places undue stress and demand on frontline officers …
It does, and that was before we had Omicron, before we had the protesters rolling into town. This is noted in the latest reports, which state, in regard to police:
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