ACT police are ‘burnt out’ because ACT Government support for police is the lowest in Australia, Liberal MLA Jeremy Hanson argued in the Legislative Assembly yesterday.

Mr Hanson, Shadow Minister for Police, urged the ACT Government to increase the number of police to at least match per-capita levels with NSW by 2024, and to adequately resource ACT Policing to re-establish face-to-face crime reporting and investigation. His motion was supported by the Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA), but the government rejected it.

The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services 2022 revealed that the ACT had Australia’s fewest police per capita; lowest funding per person for police; lowest clearance rates for property crime; and lowest satisfaction of people who had contact with police.

The ACT had 219 operational staff per 100,000 people – 25 fewer than the second lowest, NSW, with 244, and well below the Australian average of 284. The ACT spent $434 on police per person, below the national average of $526, and the ACT was the only jurisdiction where real recurrent expenditure fell between 2016–17 and 2020–21. Only 3.8 per cent of unlawful entry with intent, 7 per cent of motor vehicle thefts, and 4.8 per cent of other thefts were cleared within a month; 77.6 per cent of the public who had contact with police in the last 12 months were satisfied, below the national average of 81.9 per cent.

“This is not a criticism of our police,” Mr Hanson said. “That is a direct result of our police being spread way too thin on the ground.”

He believes the problem began when the ACT Government cut $15.36 million out of ACT Policing in the 2013/14 Budget. Since then, he said, the AFPA has consistently said police numbers are inadequate – and police were “stretched even thinner” during the pandemic. As police were stood down or quarantined due to virus exposure or close contact, “the toll and the lack of support it takes on our police is chronic, and fast becoming overwhelming,” Mr Hanson said.

Mr Hanson and the AFPA want the ACT Government to engage 100 police officers to match NSW numbers per 100,000, and 200 police officers to match the Australian average.

“Our call for more police officers is primarily a welfare issue,” said Alex Caruana, president of the AFPA. “ACT Policing members are tired, have excessive workloads, and are stretched too thin on the ground having to go from job to job.

“They have been at the coalface of the ACT Government’s response to the pandemic, as well as having to maintain ‘business as usual’ in the ACT. This hasn’t been easy, as there are only so many resources available to be deployed.

“Policing isn’t an easy profession, it’s taxing on the mind and body, and the thin blue line is continuing to get thinner as members suffer from psychological and physical injuries sustained protecting the ACT community.

“Currently, a lot of police officers don’t have a great work-life balance. If they aren’t working their regular shift, they are working overtime having to plug holes in the roster, or support other activities such as responding to protester or pandemic-related activities. They don’t get a lot of downtime and time away from their duties; this takes a toll on their wellbeing, both physical and psychological.”

Mick Gentleman, ACT Minister for Police and Emergency Services, rejected Mr Hanson’s bill entirely. The ACT Government, he said, had invested $31.5 million in police in the 2020–21 Budget and $33.9 million in 2019–20, and 98 new officers graduated in the last financial year. It would continue resourcing ACT Policing as Canberra grew.

Mr Gentleman said the Report on Government Services (RoGS) data showed the community trusted police, and felt safe in their homes and public places (more than 90 per cent safe).

Nor could ACT police numbers be compared to bigger jurisdictions. Labor backbencher Dr Marisa Paterson said the ACT had only 17 fewer positions than NSW per 100,000 – “not the hundreds of missing police that Mr Hanson states”. The ACT had 25 fewer operational staff and eight more non-operational staff than NSW, all concentrated in one distinct area with a population of 100,000 people. ACT police responded two minutes faster to incidents than police anywhere else in Australia, she said.

Mr Gentleman accused Mr Hanson and the Liberals of “scaremongering” and “trying to score political points by degrading the service of our hard-working officers”.

“Despite what the Canberra Liberals claim, Canberrans can be assured that adequate police resources have always been available to support and protect our community – and always will be,” Mr Gentleman said.

Mr Hanson retorted that Mr Gentleman’s amendment “does away with the evidence, and ignores the frontline workers and what they are saying”.

Mr Caruana said the AFPA recognised the government investment. “Unfortunately, this investment hasn’t seen a real increase in police officer numbers when you factor attrition through retirement or career change and ACT Policing officers taking up career opportunities in AFP National. This investment has kept the police officer numbers consistent, and has helped ‘keep the lights on’ for ACT Policing.”

Police officer numbers had not kept up with the ACT’s population and geographical growth over the last decade, Mr Caruana said. For instance, Gungahlin was the second most populated area in the ACT, but it had the smallest police station and ACT Policing workforce compared to other stations.

Last year, police moved to online reporting for certain crimes. Although Mr Hanson wanted the government to return to face-to-face reporting and investigation, Mr Gentleman said online self-reporting was a “modern” way the community could report incidents, crimes, and other matters, such as vandalism, minor property damage, and minor burglaries.

The Greens also voted against Mr Hanson’s bill. Backbencher Andrew Braddock said increasing the police force might seem “an easy, commonsense solution”, but it would not keep the community safe.

“The evidence shows that increased police numbers do not necessarily reduce crime, and in many cases, if not carefully deployed, can lead to increased criminalisation.”

Mr Braddock said the ACT Government must address the social and economic causes of crime, through peer support, restorative justice, social workers, drug and alcohol counsellors and rehabilitation, and programs to help discharged prisoners return to society (like Building Communities, Not Prisons).