The McGowan Government has announced a $91 million package of measures to support the State’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government is providing the WA Police Force with an additional $73.4 million to immediately recruit an extra 150 police officers to strengthen the frontline.
Recruits will be given expedited training in core modules to allow their deployment to support roles as soon as possible, and free up fully trained police officers for deployment to the frontline.
A further 135 recruits already in training are being fast-tracked for deployment to support roles.
A total of $14.8 million in funding is also being provided to purchase 100 mobile intelligence cameras, also known as Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology.
These cameras will be immediately deployed to monitor and enforce movement restrictions around the State, such as the intrastate travel restrictions.
A total of $3 million in funding is also being provided to expand police tracking and tracing capabilities with the purchase of GPS tracking devices for electronic monitoring devices.
Laws passed by State Parliament last week allow the State Emergency Coordinator (Commissioner of Police) to order the use of electronic monitoring devices for the purpose of tracking a quarantine direction.
The McGowan Government’s investment in community safety has delivered an additional $300 million to the WA Police Force over the last three budgets.
The commitment includes more than $90 million for police technology; body-worn cameras, drones, personal issue mobile devices, along with $19.2 million for personal issue body armour to help protect our officers.
This record investment is supporting frontline police operations and giving the WA Police Force the resources it needs to help keep the community of Western Australia safe.
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“My Government is throwing everything at our response to COVID-19, so that our community can get through this pandemic with as few fatalities and as little damage as possible.
“Whether it’s health, whether it’s education or whether it’s community safety, everything we are doing is to ensure we can stay ahead of the curve.
“Our WA Police have been doing an excellent job serving our State; these additional resources will ensure they can continue to meet operational demands created by the State of Emergency.
“This is not a time for complacency. We are not at the beginning of the end, in fact there are further challenges to come, so we need to be prepared both as individuals and as a community.”
As stated by Police Minister Michelle Roberts:
“Now more than ever we need as many boots on the ground and this investment by our Government will provide a greater sense of security and assurance to the Western Australian community.
“I’m also pleased that we’re able to provide additional urgent funding for the purchase of Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology to make it easier for police to identify motor vehicles on the road.
“It makes it less likely that people who have a legitimate purpose to be out and about will be stopped and will enhance the capacity of our police to identify and track offenders.
“As a Government we have acted swiftly and decisively during this unprecedented emergency to not only protect our first responders and frontline workers, but also provide them with the resources they need to keep us safe.”
