There should be more uniform police in Launceston, the new head of the police union says.
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Detective Inspector Colin Riley says the public should be concerned that uniform police numbers fall short of what is needed to “conduct effective policing” in 2019.
The former Detective Inspector in charge of Southern Drug Investigation Services targeting organised crime, defeated two candidates to be elected president of the Police Association of Tasmania (PAT).
He said PAT had long held concerns around the staffing levels of Launceston uniform police who were the first responders to calls.
“In Launceston, on average 70 per cent of each constable’s shift time is taken up responding to calls for assistance from the public, leaving 30 per cent of their time to work on investigations, complete paperwork, respond to crime and apprehend criminals proactively,” Mr Riley said.
“It is obvious that if there was more time dedicated to preventing crime, there would be less to clean up and that clearly is a resourcing issue that requires attention.”
Mr Riley said police numbers were just returning to their 2011 levels.
“The increasing prevalence since 2011 of police dealing with family violence incidents including domestics, family disputes and breaches of orders, is one element that has significantly consumed police discretionary time,” he said.
“On average, family violence related jobs are five per cent of a first responder shift’s jobs, but consume approximately 10 per cent of the shift’s total police hours.
“The 2011 staffing levels is not sufficient to deal with the far broader capability requirements on police in 2019.”
Mr Riley said there had been an increase in the level of reported crime in Launceston which needed addressing.
“The upward and downward trends in the incidence of crime is a complex matter. However, one key activity to reduce it, is proactive targeted effects by police towards recidivist criminals where there is information to indicate that they are actively committing crime,” he said.
The new union head has significant concerns with “fatigue and burnout” that he sees in the police service.
“Even just looking at the recent fires, officers were doing 80-hour weeks, yet crime doesn’t stop whilst they assist with the fires – those not working on the fires, have to stretch further to keep the community safe,” he said.
“For those at the fires, the work builds up in their workplace, they still have to attend court, the public events continue to be held and members of the public still call for assistance.
“Police respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year. Unlike many other government agencies that have a response capability for only eight hours a day.
“Members’ health is like an elastic band, if it is stretched too far, it can’t return to its original shape and the member and their family suffer the consequences.”
Mr Riley said police were three times as likely to suffer from mental trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder than the rest of the community.
“There is a strong causal link to PTSD being dose related. Police deal with the most traumatic and shocking incidents. This reflects that the more you are exposed without suitable remediation the greater chance of developing PTSD, which sees officers no longer able to work.”
Mr Riley said there needed to be effective preventative processes in place to “remediate the potential for harm to members and their family”.