CORONAVIRUS —
POLICE RESOURCES — KIMBERLEY
403. Hon KEN BASTON to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
(1) Is the
minister confident that the Kimberley police force is adequately resourced to
monitor and, if need be, control the entry
points into remote communities that have restricted access under the state
government's ''Remote Aboriginal Communities Directions''?
(2) How many
extra police officers have been deployed across the Kimberley since 1 March to
support the response to COVID-19?
(3) Which
Kimberley communities have a permanent police presence at their entry points to
enforce the ''Remote Aboriginal Communities Directions''?
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.
The Western Australia Police Force
advises the following.
(1)–(3) The Commissioner of Police deploys officers based
on operational requirements. The WA Police Force uses the intelligence it
receives to deploy officers to target locations. The WA Police Force
implemented vehicle control points at Sandfire and Kununurra to provide
effective control of the road traffic travelling into the Kimberley biosecurity
zone, and also provided a strong presence at airports and ports when required.
This approach assists in minimising the transmission of COVID-19 into the
Kimberley and the risk of spread into the communities. The WA Police Force
monitors and manages the borders and boundaries via static, mobile and random
strategies. The WA Police Force has deployed a further 10 officers to the
Kimberley. Additional police officers have been placed in all of the remote
Aboriginal communities with multifunctional police facilities, providing
an increased presence and ability to patrol into nearby communities. Officers
from other state and commonwealth agencies have also contributed to efforts to
protect the Kimberley.