NSW 'needs more police' From: AAP January 29, 2006
NSW urgently needs 3000 more police if it is to avoid soaring crime rates and the threat of more riots, a damning new report has warned.
The report by the NSW Police Association also accuses the state government of concealing the truth about police resources which are said to be the second lowest in Australia, with only one officer for every 440 people. The report, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, concludes it is only a matter of time before the state's current crime levels begin to rise.
The association will present its report to the state government and opposition today along with a demand for a commitment to increase police numbers by 3000 extra officers over the next three years to bring total strength up to 17,500 officers.
It says that if policing levels were brought up to the US average, NSW would need an additional 7000 officers and if brought up to the level of New York it would need another 19,000 officers.
The report finds public order crimes, such as the Cronulla riot and its aftermath, threaten to "seriously impact on the quality of life of many citizens" and the public would be shocked to know the truth about police station staffing.
Advertisement: "The modern post 9/11 world is placing heavy demands on police as they struggle to provide not only the day-to-day policing services that the public expect but also to ensure NSW is free from external threats of terrorism and internal crime of racial and ethnic tensions and violence," the report says. These demands had taken many police away from front-line locally based duties.
The report also accuses the state government of using "much smoke and many mirrors" to hide the truth about police resources.
