POLICE
— RECRUITS — KIMBERLEY
131. Ms D.G. D'ANNA to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment
to keeping Western Australians safe through the delivery of the single biggest
recruitment of police officers in the state's history. Can the minister
outline to the house how this unprecedented increase in police numbers will
support communities right across the Kimberley, particularly in Broome,
Kununurra, Halls Creek and Derby?
Mr P. PAPALIA replied:
I thank the member for Kimberley for
her question and for her advocacy for her constituency. It is extraordinary to
see the amount of energy she has already demonstrated in her role, and the
incredible pressure she is applying to my office to ensure that she gets
everything her constituents need. The member for Kimberley would already be aware that the previous Minister for Police
delivered an incredible reduction in crime right across the Kimberley,
from the time it peaked under the former government in 2016, of 8.5 per cent in
Broome, 3.5 per cent in Kununurra, 17 per cent in Halls Creek and 7.7 per cent
in Derby. That aside, the really interesting fact is that there are now 136
more police officers in the Kimberley than when the other side was in office. That
is partly, but mostly. before the current commitment that we are delivering
right now from this election: 950 additional police officers during this term of office; a 15 per cent increase in the
police force in one term of government. That is extraordinary. It has
never been seen before in Western Australia.
Mr V.A. Catania interjected.
Mr
P. PAPALIA: It will result in
better services to the entire state, including Carnarvon, when throughout the
entire term of the previous government, when the very poor representative for
Carnarvon was in office, not one single additional police officer was
added to the region during eight and a half years. We have delivered an
additional 6.5 FTEs since we came to office, which is part of the 950, if we
include Carnarvon. The member for North West Central knows that. He was
embarrassed by that fact, but he did not deliver.
There is more to come for the
Kimberley. As part of the 950 police officers, there will be an additional 21
officers across the Kimberley, 10 additional officers in Kununurra, six
additional officers in Derby, and three in Broome, including two youth policing
officers, which is very important, and an additional two youth policing
officers in Halls Creek. Our focus is on the concerns of reaching out to young
people and ensuring that we keep them on the right path.
All that is great, but the member
would be aware of one other factor that she has going for her in the Kimberley,
particularly in Broome, because her office was a very avid advocate for this
particular policing initiative. There was some concern a little while ago that
police dog Hank may be required to come back to Perth for a little bit of
retraining. I can confirm that Hank will remain in the Kimberley as a consequence
of popular demand. The community of Broome in particular is very supportive of
Hank and appreciates the contribution he makes.
The
McGowan government has not only already delivered for the Kimberley, but we
will also be delivering a lot more unbelievable, never-seen-before increases in
police resources right across the state, including all across the Kimberley.