POLICE — OPERATION TIDE
214. Hon TJORN SIBMA to the Leader of the House representing
the Premier:
I am sorry; I am tangled up in my
mask. Forgive me.
I refer to comments made by
Commissioner of Police Chris Dawson on 6PR on 9 March when he admitted to
halving the number of police officers assigned to the COVID-19 related
Operation Tide, and doing so in the week preceding the interview.
(1) How is the
commissioner's decision consistent with the inferred elevation of
community risk presented by the Premier's decision to implement level 2
COVID restrictions on 28 February?
(2) When did the commissioner
advise the Premier of his decision to reassign half of the Operation Tide force
back to frontline policing duties?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) Operation
Tide was established by the WA Police Force in March 2020 to support Western Australia's
response to COVID-19 and has performed an exceptional job to help keep the Western
Australian community safe throughout the pandemic. Operation Tide has played a crucial
role to ensure that the state of emergency measures, based on public health
advice, have been implemented in a calm and considered manner. I note that the
member does not support the public health advice and measures taken to keep the
WA community safe.
Hon Tjorn Sibma interjected.
Hon SUE ELLERY: I don't
know; masks, mate.
The deployment of resources is an
operational matter that is the responsibility of the Commissioner of Police.
The full border opening on 3 March resulted in fewer resources being required
to manage the border. However, the work of Operation Tide continues.