PANEL: From left, invited speakers Tamworth mayor Col Murray, member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson, NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith, Oxley Local Area police commander Clint Pheeney and Tamworth Police Association chairman Barry McMahon. 300812GOF13
CRIME statistics presented to last night’s follow-up crime law and order meeting held at TRECC suggest the city’s situation is not getting any better.
Tamworth Police Association chairman Barry McMahon told the meeting crime levels in the city since the year 2000 had increased by about 215 per cent.
“There were 7645 incidents attended by police in Tamworth in 2000 and last year that number jumped to 24,100,” he said.
Mr McMahon said while increased policing numbers helped the allocation of probationary constables, it often meant time and resources were dedicated to training inexperienced officers.
“It’s also important to remember that probationary constables can be moved at any time,” he said.
Mr McMahon said the reality was, with a growing population, the need for more police in the city would continue to grow.
“The reality is the numbers we have are based on what the current need is and don’t take into account what the need will be into the future,” he said.
He suggested an additional 22 police were still needed. He listed the areas that police association members believed needed to be addressed.
They included specialist domestic violence liaison police, a drug squad and more detectives.
“The numbers we have now are only just enabling us to keep pace with the workload we have. They are not allowing us to be increasingly proactive,” he said.