Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole.
Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole has today backed the NSW Police Association’s strong concerns about the workload requirement associated with managing prisoner transfers.
From 7 July, the Police Association has announced that police across the state will begin refusing to transport inmates to and from court, to supervise prisoners in courtrooms, or to house them in police stations once they’ve been bail refused — tasks that ought to fall under the responsibility of Corrective Services and Juvenile Justice.
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 taken to reaching a resolution nor committed to prioritising this matter.
The NSW Opposition is now calling for the Minister to immediately sit down and resolve these concerns with the Corrective Services Minister, the Youth Justice Minister and the Attorney General.
Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole said the Minister has once again been missing in action, putting both public safety and frontline policing at risk.
“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.
“This is a damning failure by the Minns Labor Government and a Minister who has completely dropped the ball,” Mr Toole said“We’ve got police in the bush off the beat for days, towns left vulnerable, and officers burnt out —and the Minister has not made good on her commitment to the Police Force.
“We back our cops 100%, but they need more than words — they need a government that stands with them, not against them. The Minns Labor Government was warned of this, and they’ve done nothing.
Now they’ve got a crisis of their own making. Enough is enough. The Minister must stop hiding behind excuses and start delivering real solutions.”