‘NSW to face wave of violence’: Police call for 2,500 extra officers

NSW police are calling for the government to increase the number of the officers on the streets to keep the public safe.

The Police Association says it needs at least another 2,500 officers in the next five years or the state will face an unprecedented “wave of violence”.

A report obtained by The Daily Telegraph reveals there are simply not enough officers to combat terror attacks, bikie gangs and vile child sex offenders.

It comes after the Police Association said in January that “NSW police are under-resourced, and it is only getting worse”. They added: “With the lowest expenditure on policing services per person and the worst police to population ratio, excluding the ACT, there is a clear indication of the NSW Government’s failure to invest in policing resources.”

According to The Daily Telegraph’s report, in one NSW north coast community there are nearly 200 “creeps” on the Child Protection Registry with just one officer trying to keep tabs on them all.

The Police Association delivered its Budget submission to the NSW Government on Monday and demanded 500 officers be allocated to the state over the next year, followed by “another 500 officers each year over the next term of government”.

But despite the shocking claims of violent crime across the state, NSW Minister for Police Troy Grant told Starts at 60, statistics showed crime rates were falling.

“The latest quarterly crime statistics released in March show 16 of the 17 major crime categories in NSW were stable or falling in the 24 months to December 2017, continuing the Liberal & Nationals Government’s strong record against crime,” Grant said.

“The NSW Liberals Nationals Government has delivered record budgets for the Police and has added an extra 1,000 officers to the NSW Police Force since 2011. We have exceeded our target of increasing the authorised strength of the NSW Police Force to a record 16,795 officers.

“The NSW Government’s prudent financial management means we are in a position to keep giving NSW Police Force the resources they need to put criminals behind bars.”

He added that the government are building new police stations and giving the NSW Police Force a range of high-tech tools that will “keep our communities safe”.

“As Minister for Police, I’m proud to back our police force and have every confidence that, under Commissioner Fuller, we will keep crime at record lows,” he concluded.

However, according to the latests statistics from the Australia Productivity Commission (APC), NSW has the second-worst rate of sexual assault in Australia and understaffing means NSW police officers are struggling to meet target response times. Drug use is also becoming more prevalent.

Police Association President Scott Weber said earlier this year: “Police officers have been working tirelessly to drive down crime. For the most part, they have been successful, with many categories of crime falling for some years now. However, as officers become increasingly overworked and as budgets get tighter, this becomes more and more difficult to maintain.”

What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel safe these days? Or do you worry more about security at home and on the street?