Despite assurances from Emergency Minister Felix Ellis that more police officers would be ‘on the beat’ next year, a right to information request has revealed 70 full-time roles are set to be cut within the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (DPFEM).
This move is part of the Tasmanian government’s plan to achieve a $300 million “efficiency dividend” across all departments, as outlined in the 2023-24 state budget.
The cuts are expected to save $35 million from the DPFEM’s budget, with department secretary Donna Adams stating that salaries represent the largest portion of the budget and are therefore likely to be targeted.
“When those positions become available, it will be uniformed police officers that will be required to conduct the infill of those positions,” Labor emergency spokesperson Jen Butler said.
“Which means that they potentially will be responding at a slower rate to the public’s concerns.”
Butler said information from the police commissioner’s office suggests positions in areas like pathology, sexual assault and telephone services are on the chopping block.
“They’ll also be looking potentially at police prosecutions and that’s also a huge issue because that will then tie up the justice system even more which is already delayed significantly,” she said.
“We know from the Police Association that morale is suffering as a result of potential cuts. Our police are by far the best police service in the country … however, to cut police numbers and to ask more of police officers is just going to add even more strain to an already strained system.”
Minister Ellis maintains that the government is committed to growing frontline services, pointing to the recent recruitment of over 60 full-time police officers.
“We need to make sure that we’re spending Tasmania’s money wisely,” he said.
“We’re continuing to work with the department around this, but our focus is around ensuring that we’re delivering those services more efficiently and more effectively.”
“We see that there are significant opportunities to do things better, to reduce waste and be more effective in delivering public services.”
