❓ Police—Operation Heat Shield 31 . Mr Kevin Michel to the Minister for Police: I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to building safe and inclusive communities for all Western Australians.
AnsweredQoN 31Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Police—Operation Heat Shield
31 . Mr Kevin Michel to
the Minister for Police:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to building safe and inclusive communities for
all Western Australians.
(1) Can the minister outline how the government is
supporting the Western Australia Police Force to protect our community across
the state?
(2) Can the minister update the house on any
significant recent initiatives?
31 . Mr Kevin Michel to
the Minister for Police:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to building safe and inclusive communities for
all Western Australians.
(1) Can the minister outline how the government is
supporting the Western Australia Police Force to protect our community across
the state?
(2) Can the minister update the house on any
significant recent initiatives?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the Pilbara
for the question. He would be very aware, of course, of how we are achieving
these great results. As we know, we have the best police force in the country,
the best resourced and the most effective. We know that a highly visible police
force means a safer community. We know that over the summer season when Western
Australians are more likely to be out and about, a highly visible police force
is even more important.
That is why our government has
funded the seventh iteration of WA Police's Operation Heat Shield. That will be
a phrase very well known around the state. Operation Heat Shield started in
2019. The latest commenced in November last year and
runs through until April this year. It focuses on high-visibility policing,
especially in entertainment precincts, in commercial areas and in residential
precincts. Over the past seven years, it has been a vital tool in keeping the
crime rate lower and boosting community confidence. This financial year, our
government has provided Heat Shield funding of more than $5 million in both metro
and regional areas. Importantly, every single police district in the state has
developed an action plan to target locations where Heat Shield resources can be
utilised. In December, our police were particularly busy, given that it is a
very busy time of the year, focusing on enhanced visibility and retail
precincts—it makes sense in December; entertainment precincts, again;
and New Year's Eve events. There was also a boost in resourcing to quickly
respond to calls from the public as well as to crackdown on high-harm
offenders. If you know who your real sources of crime are and you concentrate
on high-harm offenders, you can have an enormous positive result on crime those
areas.
I am proud to say that in
December alone, across WA, Heat Shield resulted in over 4,900 hours of
additional tasking patrols, over 900 hours of retail and commercial precinct
patrols, over 900 hours of entertainment precinct patrols and over 1,300 hours
dedicated to timely and quality investigations. That is over 8,000 additional
hours of highly visible police work funded by our government. These extra hours
got real results. They delivered 304 arrests and 703 charges were preferred.
The folks in regional areas will
know about Operation Regional Shield, which boosts police resources across WA
on an as-needed and where-needed basis. From November to January, Regional
Shield funded an additional—this is in addition—2,270 hours of
patrols, delivering 267 arrests, and 375 charges were preferred. That means
that in under two months, our government has funded over 10,400 additional
hours of police work and over 570 arrests—a massive crackdown on crime.
We look forward to continuing to
make sure that all Western Australians feel secure at home, at work and in the
community. We know that our brave police officers are out there and are keen to
achieve this. We will continue to make sure that they are well resourced and
well funded at record levels.
for the question. He would be very aware, of course, of how we are achieving
these great results. As we know, we have the best police force in the country,
the best resourced and the most effective. We know that a highly visible police
force means a safer community. We know that over the summer season when Western
Australians are more likely to be out and about, a highly visible police force
is even more important.
That is why our government has
funded the seventh iteration of WA Police's Operation Heat Shield. That will be
a phrase very well known around the state. Operation Heat Shield started in
2019. The latest commenced in November last year and
runs through until April this year. It focuses on high-visibility policing,
especially in entertainment precincts, in commercial areas and in residential
precincts. Over the past seven years, it has been a vital tool in keeping the
crime rate lower and boosting community confidence. This financial year, our
government has provided Heat Shield funding of more than $5 million in both metro
and regional areas. Importantly, every single police district in the state has
developed an action plan to target locations where Heat Shield resources can be
utilised. In December, our police were particularly busy, given that it is a
very busy time of the year, focusing on enhanced visibility and retail
precincts—it makes sense in December; entertainment precincts, again;
and New Year's Eve events. There was also a boost in resourcing to quickly
respond to calls from the public as well as to crackdown on high-harm
offenders. If you know who your real sources of crime are and you concentrate
on high-harm offenders, you can have an enormous positive result on crime those
areas.
I am proud to say that in
December alone, across WA, Heat Shield resulted in over 4,900 hours of
additional tasking patrols, over 900 hours of retail and commercial precinct
patrols, over 900 hours of entertainment precinct patrols and over 1,300 hours
dedicated to timely and quality investigations. That is over 8,000 additional
hours of highly visible police work funded by our government. These extra hours
got real results. They delivered 304 arrests and 703 charges were preferred.
The folks in regional areas will
know about Operation Regional Shield, which boosts police resources across WA
on an as-needed and where-needed basis. From November to January, Regional
Shield funded an additional—this is in addition—2,270 hours of
patrols, delivering 267 arrests, and 375 charges were preferred. That means
that in under two months, our government has funded over 10,400 additional
hours of police work and over 570 arrests—a massive crackdown on crime.
We look forward to continuing to
make sure that all Western Australians feel secure at home, at work and in the
community. We know that our brave police officers are out there and are keen to
achieve this. We will continue to make sure that they are well resourced and
well funded at record levels.
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