Seventy five police officers from the State's COVID taskforce will today gradually begin to complement the record number of police assigned to keeping the community safe in Northbridge and the Perth CBD.
The boost of police officers complements a raft of measures announced by the McGowan Government to tackle antisocial behaviour and boost safety in the area.
The additional officers join 100 extra officers already deployed in the Perth Police District.
The 75 officers from Operation Tide were previously engaged in duties including door to door quarantine checks, managing the digital quarantine monitoring system, airport duties, monitoring ports and manning roadblocks.
Police Minister Paul Papalia said Western Australia's COVID response and management had entered a new phase, and that meant these officers could be dedicated to other areas and support the already record number of officers out in force.
The McGowan Government has already recruited an additional 509 officers as part of its commitment to enlist 950 new officers to the force over four years.
Police resourcing is an operational matter and is decided by WA Police.
As stated by Police Minister Paul Papalia:
"There are already more police on our streets than ever before."
"But with Operation Tide winding back, we now have a contingent of police that can rejoin the already record number of police the McGowan Government has enabled to be put on our streets.
"We can't control the actions of people behaving badly, but we can control our response, and the recent response times of police to violent crime in Northbridge can be measured in mere seconds."
As stated by Perth MLA John Carey:
"While there is already a significant police presence within the city and Northbridge, these additional 75 officers will further complement all the additional safety measures our Government has already put in place.
"In recent months we have put in place a wide range of measures to promote safety including upgrades to the train station, establishment of Rooforce security patrols and an expansion of the HEART homeless outreach team."
As stated by Acting Police Commissioner Col Blanch:
"This deployment of officers is about community safety, and also reassurance, through a highly visible police presence.
"You will see officers on the beat 24/7. We are proud of our city and want our community to enjoy it."
