The plan to remove police from Tasmanian supreme courts is well underway with the state government in its final stage of recruiting replacements.
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Six new correctional officer positions were announced in October following renewed calls from the public to free Tasmania Police of its “babysitting duties” in court.
The new roles were in addition to 30 announced earlier this year and would see the removal of police from the Launceston Supreme Court.
Addressing the issue of police in the Burnie Supreme Court, Corrections Minister Elise Archer said a project officer had been appointed to “review arrangements in the North-West” and would start in the role on Monday.
Officers in Burnie are not only required to be present during supreme court sittings but are also responsible for transporting prisoners to and from the court.
The debate about police officers in Tasmanian supreme courts dates back about 17 years, with former police commander Ivan Dean arguing for their removal from 1999.
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In 2012 the state Liberal Party promised to end the practice of putting police in court if elected, but it was not until the issue was raised again when eight officers spent four weeks sitting in a trial in August.
The cost of having those officers in court was revealed to The Examiner as being more than $95,000. This week, Mr Dean said he was “absolutely delighted” action was being taken “so quickly”.
“I thought the project officer may have just been another statement that would not come to fruition so for that to be in place so quickly is absolutely wonderful to see,” he said.
“I hope the project officer can see a way to bring police out of the court in Burnie similar to what is being done in Launceston and has been done in Hobart. Police should be on the street and I commend the government for taking this matter seriously.”
Police Association of Tasmania president Pat Allen echoed Mr Dean’s comments.
“For many years over successive governments the Police Association has called for an even playing field across the state in relation to the use of police resources,” he said.
“With the imminent removal of police from the Launceston Supreme Court, and the beginning of the project to remove them from the Burnie Supreme Court it means that the public in those areas can be treated the same as everywhere else with their police resources being dedicated to their needs and not sitting on their backsides acting as security guards.”
It is understood correctional officers will replace police in the Launceston Supreme Court by mid-2018.