South Australia has the most police officers per capita and the lowest rate of recidivist offending of all Australian states, a new report has revealed.
The 2022-23 Report on Government Services shows SAPOL has 238 operational sworn staff per 100,000 people – the most of any state and eight per cent higher than the national average of 221 – while satisfaction with services provided by SAPOL leads the country at 78.8 per cent compared to a national average of 73.9 per cent.
Additionally, the report shows the rate of return to corrective services with a new sanction within two years of release in South Australia is the lowest in the country at 36.9 per cent, well below the national average of 51.7 per cent.
The rate of recidivist offending is supported by South Australian Correctional Services continuing to lead the nation for prisoner participation in education and training, with 48.3 per cent of Department for Correctional Services (DCS) prisoners engaging in education and training – well above the national rate of 25.8 per cent.
These results come off the back of DCS exceeding the target set in 2016 by then-Correctional Services Minister, Peter Malinauskas, which was to reduce reoffending by 10 per cent by the year 2020 (10by20).
In 2023, Correctional Services Minister Joe Szakacs committed to a new target of reducing reoffending by 20 per cent by 2026 (20by26).
In last year’s State Budget the Malinauskas Government committed more than $12 million to an accelerated police recruitment course to hire 900 new police officers over three years and an additional 189 police security officers.
This includes a drive for international recruits, with the first information sessions for experienced officers from the UK, Ireland and New Zealand taking place earlier this month.
As put by Joe Szakacs
This report shows that our plan to get more police officers on the beat is working, and we’re committed to recruiting 300 more each year over three years.
We’re also committed to reducing recidivist offending, which not only causes harm and trauma within our community, but also places a significant strain on our police, courts and corrections resources and a large financial cost.
We have far exceeded the initial target set by the former Labor Government and will continue toward our new target of 20by26.
