A Labor Government will make resourcing of police at the frontline throughout Tasmania a priority while at the same time ensuring the safety and wellbeing of police officers is paramount.
Addressing the Police Association of Tasmanian conference today, Labor Leader Rebecca White said Labor was committed to giving police the tools they needed to perform their jobs and protect the community, including ensuring that rural and regional country police stations are fully staffed.
Ms White said it was also time to deliver on the Gutwein Government's unfulfilled promise to remove police officers from court duty and prisoner transport in the North West.
"It's well overdue that police were removed from courts in the North West but the government's interim solution is to contract to private security firms and that is not the best solution," Ms White said.
"Labor urges the government to recruit security workers to the Justice Department to perform these roles from July 1 when this change is scheduled to take place.
"We understand that the nature of policing is changing.
"Along with looking at what additional resources are needed, it is important that we also consider how existing resources can be best utilised.
"Last year we also saw police officers pulled from the beat and reassigned to hotel quarantine, leaving significant gaps in the ability to maintain public order, undertake criminal investigations and traffic policing.
"Police resources should not be used as a reserve supply for governments to dip into when they're running low in other areas - but are a priority in and of themselves."
Shadow Police Minister Jen Butler said the mental health and well-being of police was a Labor priority.
"The incidence of PTSD among our police officers is not only way too high, the burden of getting that trauma recognised is unacceptable," Ms Butler said.
"Labor will support improved physical and emotional wellbeing programs across the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management, including with on-the-job mental health checks and improved workplace training and support."
Ms Butler said a Labor Government would also fund urgently needed police resources, including the training of police dogs in Tasmania, which was still not taking place despite a successful trial of general duties dogs from South Australia which resulted in the apprehension of a number of offenders.
"No action has been taken by the Liberals in this critical area and Labor will fund three general duties dogs - one each for the North, South and Western districts - at a cost of just over $1million," Ms Butler said.
Rebecca White MP
Labor Leader
Jen Butler MP
Shadow Minister for Police
