Member for the Entrance, Mr David Mehan, is calling on the Berejiklian State Government to explain why the Central Coast has received none of the police who graduated from the Goulbourn Academy in April.
Figures released by NSW Police show that of the 234 new probationary constables, most will be allocated to Sydney Police Districts, and Central Coast Police Districts received none.
According to Mr Mehan, dwindling numbers of police on the Central Coast has been an ongoing issue, with the Berejiklian Government concealing the details
of police numbers on the Coast by referring questions on notice tabled in Parliament to
the Police website, which only reports figures to 2015.
A recently released Productivity Commission report revealed that on average, NSW has
239 police officers for every 100,000 citizens, and nationally there are 274 police per 100,000 citizens.
These figures show that the Central Coast is well below this average, with 119 police per 100,000 citizens.
The report also indicated that in the period from January 2011 to September 2017,
the Central Coast had recorded a loss of 45 police officer positions, down from 445 in 2011 to 400 in 2017.
“Central Coast Police Districts are under-staffed and over-stretched,” Mr Mehan said.
“Only 26 out of the 234 allocations were to regional areas. “NSW Labor supports the NSW Police Association in their call for a major increase in officers over the next five
years,” Mr Mehan said.
Source: Media release, Apr 27 David Mehan MP