Details of the NSW regional police shake-up have been released, including plans for the Mid North Coast.
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In a statement this week, NSW Police announced that 34 local area commands in regional NSW will be replaced with 26 police districts.
However, the Mid North Coast local area command has avoided any mergers and will simply be renamed the ‘Mid North Coast police district.’
There will still be structural changes to the Mid North Coast district including the appointment of a district superintendent who will have varying spans of control, while each district will also incorporate an ‘Officer-in-Charge’ model for each of its police stations.
Leading up to the announcement, there were fears that the Mid North Coast local area command would be lost to a merger.
“Job cuts in regional areas mean less money going into the local community,” acting general secretary of the Public Service Association Troy Wright said.
Meanwhile, new police districts were announced as a result of the following regional mergers:
- Orana Mid-Western Police District (a consolidation of Orana and Mudgee LACs and including the policing sectors of Coonamble from Castlereagh LAC and Warren from Darling River LAC)
- Port Stephens/Hunter Police District (a consolidation of Port Stephens LAC and the northern sectors of Central Hunter LAC)
- Hunter Valley Police District (a consolidation of Hunter Valley LAC with the southern sectors of Central Hunter LAC)
- South Coast Police District (a consolidation of Shoalhaven and Far South Coast LACs)
- Riverina Police District (a consolidation of Wagga Wagga LAC and the southern sectors of Cootamundra LAC)
- The Hume Police District (a consolidation of The Hume LAC and the northern sectors of Cootamundra LAC)
- Oxley Police District (a consolidation of Oxley LAC and the southern sectors of Barwon LAC)
- New England Police District (a consolidation of New England LAC and the northern sectors of Barwon LAC)
- Central West Police District (a consolidation of Lachlan and Canobolas LACs – the Cowra and Canowindra policing sectors will move to Chifley PD)
- Central North Police District (a consolidation of Darling River LAC and the northern sectors of Castlereagh LAC)
- Murrumbidgee Police District (a consolidation of Griffith LAC and the Hay sector of Deniliquin LAC)
- Murray River Police District (a consolidation of Albury LAC and the southern sectors of Deniliquin LAC – the Balranald and Euston policing sectors will move to Barrier PD)
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said designing a new policing model for regional NSW has been a priority.
"A large aspect of re-engineering is putting more police back on the frontline and a flexible workforce is a good outcome for regional communities," Mr Fuller said.
“The Police Districts will be supported by the new Region Enforcement Squads based at Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Tamworth and Coffs-Clarence and the new Domestic Violence High Risk Offender Team in Western Region.
“Policing in regional and rural communities differs greatly from the city and our approach recognises the unique needs and challenges of both models.”
