POLICE —
FRONTLINE OFFICERS
1385. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I refer to the minister's
media statement of 17 November 2019 entitled ''Unprecedented summer
crime blitz to deliver increased police presence across WA''.
(1) How does the
minister expect the WA Police Force to provide an extra 50 000 hours on an
already strained workforce that has 128 vacancies in metropolitan and 90 in
regional Western Australia?
(2) Why did the minister not announce funding six
months ago and allocate $5 million to training an additional 100
officers instead?
(3) In light of the minister's answer to Legislative
Council question without notice 1333 that, according to the WA Police
Force 2019 annual report, it will reach authorised strength by the end of 2019,
can the police minister guarantee that to be the case?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Police.
(1)–(3) The
unprecedented $5 million Operation Heat Shield enables the Western Australia
Police Force to deploy over 50 000 additional policing hours. Smaller police
operations over the summer months have been supported in the past to tackle the
rise in crime rates historically experienced during the summer period. Highly
visible police patrols will be stepped up at suburban centres, the Perth CBD
and shopping, entertainment and transport hubs to deter antisocial behaviour
and provide reassurance to the public.
The WA Police Force advises that the
number of vacancies across the WA Police Force as at 18 November is 69 in
metropolitan districts and 37 in regional WA districts. This reflects normal
levels due to leave, promotions and transfers. The WA Police Force currently
has more officers than ever before and is on track to reach its authorised
strength.