SALISBURY POLICE STATION

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (15:10): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police questions about the Salisbury Police Station.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: The City of Salisbury is the second largest council in the metropolitan area with a population of more than 123,000 people and an area of 161 square kilometres. However, despite the size of the council, the Salisbury Police Station operates only from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and this has forced Salisbury residents to rely upon Elizabeth and Holden Hill for out-of-hours police services, as both those stations are open 24 hours a day. This is an ongoing concern to many residents of Salisbury, who believe that as their city continues to grow the need for a 24-hour police station escalates. My questions are:

1. Will the minister acknowledge that a highly populated community such as Salisbury should have a 24-hour police station operating in that council area?

2. Will the minister indicate whether the government has considered opening the Salisbury station for longer hours?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:11): The important issue is whether police are available on a 24-hour basis to act within significant population centres in our state—and the answer is that they are. The police have a number of 24-hour patrol bases located strategically throughout the metropolitan area and in large country areas that enable police to provide that service, and it is really up to the Commissioner to ensure that that service is delivered.

Obviously, a lot of people would like particular stations open, but the point about a 24-hour police station is that essentially it is a patrol base; where police are needed on a 24-hour basis is out there on the ground. We need patrols out there so that they can attend where they are required rather than have people coming into police stations. That is really the key issue. As I have said, this government has provided not only a whole lot of new police stations but also significant extra resources to police in a whole range of areas—including, most importantly, the number of police on the ground—so that they can provide greater services to the people of this state.