The “re-engineering” of the NSW Police Force needs to be more transparent and officers, their representatives and the community need to be given way more facts.
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The plan became a political football between the Nationals and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFF) during the recent State by-elections.
The match was “no holds barred” as the NSW Coalition battled SFF accusations around the merger of police Local Area Commands (LACs) and a resulting loss in police numbers and experience.
The Coalition launched strong counter-attacks, with Police Minister and Dubbo MP Troy Grant dismissing the claims.
The voters and the wider regional community were left to decide which version from which politician they believed.
On Thursday, the Police Association of NSW (PANSW) issued an alarming statement. PANSW, the police union and hardly a radical organisation, urged the government to increase police numbers by at least 2500 in the next five years or risk the safety of the people of NSW.
It highlighted Dubbo as one area where police could no longer provide the protection the community needed due to “years of neglect of country policing”.
(It is worth noting the officers in the Orana LAC are committed to doing a good job and have been successful in reducing some crime rates.)
Mr Grant said the government shares PANSW’s desire for more police, numbers are already rising and the re-engineering and resource allocation will further increase police capacity.
It is clear some regional LACs will be merged – Dubbo is slated to join with Mudgee. It is worth noting the government does not have a good record with mergers.
An underlying issue is the lack of facts and figures.
There are fears mergers will cut the number of senior, highly-experienced officers.
There have also been suggestions various LACs already lack enough “boots on the ground” ... and the new regional enforcement squads will just shift numbers from the LACs without an overall increase.
Understandably, there are serious concerns in the community. It is about safety.
The government, Mr Grant and the Police Force might be better served by spelling out the details of the challenges and solutions, fully and frankly. The community and officers may then feel reassured.
