The DNA of this State Government is to slash and burn but local residents need to be confident the local police have all the resources they need to do their jobs well, says Anoulack Chanthivong.
The Member for Macquarie Fields has joined forces with Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren and opposition police spokesman Guy Zangari to call on the government come clean on plans to amalgamate Local Area Commands.
Labor says specialised officers will be lost to local communities and the plans are “nothing more than an attempt to downgrade, relocate and merge Local Area Commands.
It was today announced that the 42 current metropolitan Local Area Commands will be cut to 32.
Hundreds of jobs could be affected and there are concerns amalgamations could result in the loss of trained officers who specialise in domestic violence response and victim support, youth and community liaisons, licensing and compliance and intelligence.
“New houses are going up on a weekly basis in my electorate, with tens of thousands of people moving into the area in the coming years,’’ Mr Chanthivong said.
“The Berejiklian Liberal Government must guarantee police numbers will increase to match this population growth.
“When it comes to basic services, you just can’t trust this government so I’ll be fighting to make sure we don’t suffer because the premier and minister have chosen to prioritise the bottom line over community safety.”
The merger announcement comes as Campbelltown LAC and Macquarie Fields LAC already struggle to operate with an understrength force.
Campbelltown LAC has six fewer staff than it should with an authorised police officer number of 153 but an actual police number 147 (as of July 31) – not including officers on sick, annual or family leave.
Macquarie Fields LAC also has an understrength force with an authorised police officer number of 142 despite only having 130 actual police officers at the LAC. This also fails to include officers on sick, annual or family leave.
“We need a guarantee that our local police stations have a future in both Campbelltown and Macquarie Fields,’’ says Greg Warren.
“Our LAC has done an amazing job working with the local community.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“As our population continues to grow we need to ensure we have more police on the street, not less.”[/social_quote]
Mr Zangari has called on NSW Police minister Troy Grant to provide certainty for frontline officers and their local communities.
“You’d think the government would have learned from their failures following the forced council amalgamation debacle,’’ Mr Zangari said.
“But here we go again. Minister Grant has been unable to provide any details on which LACs will be shut down as part of this process.”
