THE Police Association of NSW is agitating for the State Government to address what it says are critical staff shortages across the northern region of NSW.
Areas the association says are undermanned include Port Macquarie and the Mid North Coast, Manning Great Lakes, Coffs/Clarence, and Richmond and Tweed/Byron.
Association president Scott Weber travelled through the region last week to listen to the concerns of front-line officers.
Mr Weber said the allocation of police needed to be increased to match the growing population and changing demographics.
“Current numbers of police do not match the workloads of these commands,” he said.
“Not only does it place added pressure on officers to react to calls from the community but to provide adequate proactive policing that the community quite rightly deserves.
“It’s clearly time for action by the government and it’s long overdue.”
Mr Weber said the association would be holding a meeting in Newcastle on 20 November to discuss the possibility of industrial action.
