❓ Opposition questions the Minister for Police about vacant detective positions and a perceived link to rising crime. The Minister denies a resourcing issue, highlighting recruitment efforts and a growth program.
AnsweredQoN 765Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
POLICE — DETECTIVES
765. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS to the Minister for
Police:
I have a supplementary question. Is
it any wonder there has been a 20 per cent increase in crime when the minister
has left so many existing detective positions vacant for so long?
765. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS to the Minister for
Police:
I have a supplementary question. Is
it any wonder there has been a 20 per cent increase in crime when the minister
has left so many existing detective positions vacant for so long?
AnswerView source ↗
I am not sure of the exact number of
detectives we have —
Several members interjected.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : — but I went to a conference held at Crown Casino
where more than 680 WA Police detectives were in attendance.
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Albany!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : Yes, 50 vacancies across the state sounds like a big number,
but in the context of a workforce of over 6 000 officers, that is not a huge
number. We make no apology for recruiting and requesting expressions of
interest for police officers to be trained as detectives. As I said previously,
it is not a resourcing issue.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : With our commitment in 2013 of a growth program of 550 additional
police and police auxiliary officers and the training of 200 detectives, came
money for marketing, advertising and training the positions.
Mrs
M.H. Roberts interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Midland, I call you to order for the first time. Okay, minister, quick answer.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : It involved all the funding required for the training and
recruitment of every single one of those positions as part of a growth program.
That includes all the accoutrements—everything the police officers
need. We will be recruiting more detectives, as those vacancies have been
advertised. As part of the reform program, we are getting far better
information about where we need to place those detectives to ensure we give the
best service to the community.
detectives we have —
Several members interjected.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : — but I went to a conference held at Crown Casino
where more than 680 WA Police detectives were in attendance.
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Albany!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : Yes, 50 vacancies across the state sounds like a big number,
but in the context of a workforce of over 6 000 officers, that is not a huge
number. We make no apology for recruiting and requesting expressions of
interest for police officers to be trained as detectives. As I said previously,
it is not a resourcing issue.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : With our commitment in 2013 of a growth program of 550 additional
police and police auxiliary officers and the training of 200 detectives, came
money for marketing, advertising and training the positions.
Mrs
M.H. Roberts interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Midland, I call you to order for the first time. Okay, minister, quick answer.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : It involved all the funding required for the training and
recruitment of every single one of those positions as part of a growth program.
That includes all the accoutrements—everything the police officers
need. We will be recruiting more detectives, as those vacancies have been
advertised. As part of the reform program, we are getting far better
information about where we need to place those detectives to ensure we give the
best service to the community.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.