THE Hawkesbury Branch of the Police Association said more officers were needed at our command because there were not enough for all calls to be responded to quickly.
The Hawkesbury command has the largest area in the state’s metropolitan region but the smallest number of officers.
There are 87 police serving a command of 65,000 residents scattered across almost 3000 square kilometres.
The command is made up of 44 general duty officers and probationary constables, with the rest of the staff being detectives, crime management officers, duty officers and the commander.
Police Association executive member for the Hawkesbury, Allanah Anson, said there needed to be more police to attend to the volume of jobs.
‘‘The command has to run 24 hours,’’ she said.
‘‘When you factor in the police who are actually manning the trucks and station, it becomes very lean.
‘‘You need to deduct those who are not providing a first response function, those who are at court, on annual leave, on sick report or longterm sick, on maternity leave or rest days.’’
She said there were also many who were called out to operations such as events in Sydney, juvenile escorts or on mandatory training.
‘‘What you have left is a very small portion of officers who are available to respond to calls from members of the public.”
Following the Gazette article on June 10, Hawkesbury Council put forward a motion at its meeting the same day, highlighting the problem of police shortages in the Hawkesbury.
They also wrote letters to Hawkesbury MP Dominic Perrottet and the police minister Troy Grant asking for more police.
Mr Perrottet said he understood community concerns about policing and was committed to ensuring the region receives its fair share of services.
He added he intended to take the matter up personally with the police minister.
‘‘The Hawkesbury received four new probationary constables in May,’’ Mr Perrottet said.
‘‘And the NSW government has delivered record high police numbers to keep our community safe with authorised strength now at 16,565. During the election campaign, a further commitment was made to recruit another 310 officers and invest $100 million in a landmark Policing for Tomorrow Fund – equipping police with the latest technology to keep them a step ahead of criminals.’’
However Mrs Anson said despite all the figures he was quoting, he failed to recognise that Hawkesbury’s police don’t have the resources of the state at their hands.
‘‘The four new probationary constables would have merely filled in the gaps from officers who had transferred due to promotion or career choice and even those who had resigned or retired,’’ she said.
Mrs Anson said the police force needed a robust ‘Police Allocation Model’.
‘‘I have had the pleasure of working with the officers at Hawkesbury and you couldn’t come across a more dedicated group of police. This is reflected by the support they continually have from their community. They just want to do their job protecting the community but they need the resources to do it.’’
A spokeswoman for the police minister said there have been 18 new police officers allocated to the Hawkesbury since March 2011.
“The allocation of officers is based on the needs and requirements of local area commands and is at the discretion of the police commissioner,’’ she said.
Hawkesbury police are also called upon to manage prisoners at Windsor Local Court because there are no corrective services officers in court on sitting days.
A Corrective Services spokesman said under a long-standing arrangement, Corrective Services manages offenders at a limited number of local courts, while police manage offenders at all other courts, including Windsor.
Hawkesbury Superintendent Steve Egginton said the command worked hard to ensure resources were applied to respond to calls from the public.
‘‘The command has a very large area and the distance that staff are required to travel can affect how long it takes to get to locations,’’ he said.
‘‘Operational staff are well aware of traffic issues when responding to calls for assistance and do their best to ensure these don’t delay response to urgent matters.’’
