South Australia Police

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:28): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement about police budget measures.

Leave granted.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: The government has a strong track record when it comes to recruiting more police to protect and serve the public of South Australia. Today there are hundreds more police officers in our communities preventing crime and catching criminals compared to when we came to office. The recent state budget continues this work by providing an additional $16.1 million for front-line police. The funding will see the completion of the Recruit 313 initiative.

An honourable member: This century?

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: However, meeting the original commitment of employing the extra police before 2018 would require active recruitment from overseas. Right now our state needs to give South Australians the best chance to be selected for these high-quality jobs. The government has made a commitment to deliver these jobs to South Australians, meaning that we have stopped active recruitment of police from overseas and interstate. Our decision to back local jobs necessitates the time line for delivery being revised to 2020.

The state budget investment of $16.1 million in our police forums means we are able to put more officers on the front line than ever before. The additional funding in the budget also means SA Police can recruit 45 more civilians to the force, allowing existing sworn officers to be redeployed to front-line policing. We want to see more police officers doing more police work. This will see officers out from behind desks and onto the streets to protect our communities.

There is a lot of wisdom in the cliché that you don't catch criminals sitting behind a desk. By delivering the biggest police force in the state's history, the police commissioner will be able to respond to emerging threats such as domestic violence, cyber crime and counterterrorism. The latest state budget brings the police budget to its highest level in its history at $883 million and will see more front-line police in our communities than ever before. We want our police force to be diverse, modern and capable of responding to emerging crimes. Make no mistake, this budget has provided more funding for SAPOL than ever before, forecasts real growth through the forward estimates and will support the largest police force the state has ever seen.