Jacquie Petrusma,Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is investing $348 million over the Forward Estimates to Tasmania Police as part of our strong plan to keep Tasmanians safe.
In responding to the 2021-2022 Tasmanian Budget, Colin Riley, the President of the Police Association of Tasmania stated…"The Budget provides funding for all of the Government's 2021 election commitments to our members and more."
"We are very grateful for the care shown for our members which will result in increased service delivery and the safety of the Tasmanian community."
This Government recognises that our Police do an incredible job in protecting our communities, and undertaking challenging and often confronting situations daily as part of their role.
The 2021-22 Tasmanian Budget includes $9.4 million to commence the recruitment of an additional 50 police officers over the next five years, bringing the total to 308 under this Liberal Government.
The Budget also delivers on our other election commitments, including:
*$3 million towards the $6.5 million State Control Centre, to assist our police officers and State Servants who are working hard to protect our State from COVID-19;
*$2.5 million over four years to employ eight additional State Service employees who will support police in roles such as prosecution, cybercrime and digital evidence analysis;
*$20 million towards a new police station in St Helens and significant upgrades at the Bridgewater Police Station;
*$3.6 million to construct a southern based SOG facility;
*$2.4 million over 2 years to extend Tasmania's electronic monitoring of family violence perpetrators, after the successful trial showed a 76 per cent decrease in high-risk family violence incidents, and a 100 per cent decrease in stalking; and
*$9.6 million towards completing our $21.7 million program of police housing upgrades, delivering 49 new and renovated houses for police officers and their families stationed in remote and regional areas of Tasmania.
The Budget also invests $5.1 million for an Emergency Mental Health Co-Response Team that will improve the way that our services respond to critical mental health cases, while also investing:
*$2.8 million to bolster our Large Vessel Replacement Program to deliver a world class replacement for the PV Van Diemen;
*$13.1 million to get police out of courts in the North West of the State;
*$100,000 over the next four years to Crime Stoppers to assist in delivering its programs; and a
*$4 million grants program to allow local communities to purchase and install CCTV cameras.
The Tasmanian Liberal Government will continue to invest in Tasmania Police to ensure it can continue to keep all Tasmanians safe and secure Tasmania's future.
