Few people would know the truth of the saying "when you're up to your neck in alligators it's hard to remember your job is to drain the swamp" better than the men and women of ACT Policing.
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Chronically under resourced over many years to the point it was unable to meet its priority one and priority two response targets in 2022, and the subject of intense scrutiny during the recent Lehrmann prosecution inquiry, it's no wonder Canberra's thin blue line has serious morale issues.
These have been exacerbated by one of the lowest operational police to population ratios in the country which has meant officers are often unable to respond to break-ins and car accidents.
This has made Canberra's police easy targets for criticism from a disgruntled public which has resented being told it needs to "self-report" what to its members are not just "minor" offences.
Police resources have been stretched even further as a direct result of the adoption of more nuanced responses to reports of domestic violence and to people experiencing mental health issues.
Incursions into the territory by outlaw motorcycle gangs relocating to get around anti-consorting laws have not made the police's lot any easier.
In the five years since the Australian Federal Police Association's president Angela Smith wrote "the ACT [government] stance on anti-consorting [laws] is a green light for motorcycle gangs to roam and operate freely in Canberra" little or nothing was done boost ACT Policing's numbers.
That, belatedly but fortunately, seems about to change with a commitment this year's territory budget, due to be handed down on June 27, will contain a $107 million funding boost.
Much of this will, according to Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Police Minister Mick Gentleman, be used to recruit an additional 126 police personnel over the next five years. This represents an additional recruit course at the AFP's Barton College annually over that period.
The recruitment drive, which the government claims is the largest ever single investment in ACT Policing, has the potential to increase sworn officer numbers by almost 20 per cent over the current level of about 691.
It is to be complemented by a day-shift Police, Ambulance and Clinician Early Response Team tasked with providing mental health support.
Under the existing model PACER Teams only operate in the evenings and overnight.
While the government's investment, which is to come on top of the $204 million a year it already pays the AFP to provide territory police services, is being driven in part by population growth and the establishment of new communities, the end result will be to enhance ACT Policing's capabilities.
Some of the money has been ear marked for the provision of vehicles, body cameras and other equipment.
That spending is, of course, essential. There's not much point in having more officers on the ground if they don't have the equipment they need to do their jobs.
The same is true of the bricks and mortar infrastructure with key facilities such as Belconnen's Winchester Centre and City Police Station both showing their age and overdue for renovation or replacement.
While it is understood part of the funding will be used to assess these facilities there is no way the $107 million could be stretched to replace them.
That is a cost Canberrans, already staring down the barrel of paying $2 billion plus for light rail to Woden and for a $1 billion dollar hospital on the site of Calvary, will undoubtedly be called upon to cover in the next few years.
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