Pictured is Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole who has said “Enough is enough.”
Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole has backed the NSW Police Association’s move to cease conducting prisoner transfers as police want to get back to doing what they do best, and that is policing.
From 7 July, police across the state will begin refusing to transport inmates to and from court, supervise prisoners in courtrooms, or house them in police stations once they’ve been bail refused — tasks that clearly fall under the responsibility of Corrective Services and Juvenile Justice.
This comes after the Police Association of NSW warned Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Police Yasmin Catley of this 12 months ago at the Police Association Conference – and they have done nothing about it.
Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole said the decision to cease prisoner transport duties is long-overdue as the situation has been putting both public safety and frontline policing at risk.
“Our police are not prison guards, they’re not taxi drivers for criminals, and should not be expected to play this role,” Mr Toole said.
“Regional police are being pulled from frontline duties to drive prisoners hundreds of kilometres, often sleeping overnight in stations and leaving entire communities without police coverage.
“We’ve got police in the bush off the beat for days, towns left vulnerable, and officers burnt out — all because the Government refuses to properly resource Corrective Services.
The NSW Opposition questioned the NSW Police Minister at the most recent budget estimates hearing on Labor’s commitment made to the Police Association in 2024 to address this issue. The Minister agreed she was aware of the matter but was not aware of any steps being taken to reach a resolution nor committed to prioritising this matter.
“This is a damning failure by the Minns Labor Government and a Minister who has dropped the ball,” Mr Toole said.