The Orange branch of the Police Association of NSW (PANSW) has rejected a proposal for the merger of Canobolas Local Area Command (LAC) with Lachlan LAC, saying the plan offered no confirmation to supply the additional frontline police officers needed to “keep our heads above water”.
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The proposal came as part of the restructuring – or what Police Commissioner Mick Fuller last year described as a “re-engineering” – of the NSW Police Force.
PANSW Orange branch coordinator Tony Borland said the “under-strength” command urgently needed at least four reinforcements to police the growing city, but the number of officers in Orange hadn’t been looked at in nearly 10 years.
He said that was seriously impacting Canobolas LAC’s ability to respond to call-outs, let alone conduct random breath and drug tests to drivers, and other proactive community work.
“Orange has grown and the workload has grown with it, that’s where the four officers are needed,” Mr Borland said.
“Everyone’s working harder to meet those demands. Four officers would give us the chance to keep our heads above water in a reactionary sense and be proactive.”
He said the shortfall in staff meant shifts were being filled with officers on overtime, a less than ideal situation.
“I don’t want to see a situation like the trains have had recently, I want to see staff rostered appropriately,” Mr Borland said.
“We rejected it outright and we’re going back to Western Region now to renegotiate. Nothing is off the table, we’ll wait and see what they come to us with.”
Member for Orange Phil Donato said the recently released Australian Productivity Commission’s report revealed that NSW has the lowest police expenditure in Australia per capita and the second worst police-to-population ratio in the nation.
“Unfortunately, important services are under-resourced, under-funded, and we have concerns [about] being appropriately staffed to address concerns” Mr Donato said.
“It’s not unreasonable to call on this government to provide these numbers and these resources to equip police to let them protect this community.
Former police prosecutor Mr Donato said short-staffed LACs would lead to officers burning out.
Mr Borland and Mr Donato declined to comment on the specifics of the proposal, including staffing numbers for the merged LAC.
Max Stainkamph
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
