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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-09-15 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

POLICE ATTENDANCE PROCEDURE

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Police, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:03): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: Yesterday, I advised the house that a comprehensive review would be conducted into a call to the 131444 Police Assistance line on 11 September, when Ms Pirjo Kemppainen reported a rock-throwing incident at her house in Callington. The call centre operator took a police incident report but did not refer the matter to the Police Communications Branch.

I am advised that the Commissioner of Police has declared this matter a significant incident investigation. Consequently, an investigation will be conducted to:

examine the handling of this matter at the call centre, including action taken in response to the call;

review the relevant standard operating procedures, level of training and supervision for call centre operations;

advise on deficiencies in the manner in which the call was handled;

any matter which may have contributed to the way the call was handled; and

whether any changes to policy procedures, training, supervision or any other matter are needed.

The Commissioner of Police has also requested Ms Sarah Bolt, head of the Police Complaints Authority, to independently review the conduct of the investigation and its conclusions and recommendations. The independent Police Complaints Authority has agreed to the commissioner's request. The commissioner has acknowledged that police should have attended at Callington. It is now important that SAPOL immediately assess its internal processes and ensures all staff have a clear understanding of their responsibilities when receiving a call that may impact upon the safety of a person. The police investigation, and its outcomes, will be independently reviewed. It is expected the investigation will be completed within a short period.

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