Station closure has let crime victims down, put police under pressure, Redman
Author: Terry Redman
Published on: 07-May-2008
Stirling MLA Terry Redman questioned Police Minister John Kobelke yesterday over an incident in which a young Cranbrook woman waited 45 minutes for police to attend, after she reported that an intruder had broken into her home.
The mother of two was at home with her children when an intruder allegedly broke through a back door to gain access, later leaving the premises before police could attend. The incident has prompted further calls for the Cranbrook Police Station to be re-opened.
“This most unfortunate incident will do nothing to allay Cranbrook residents’ concerns about the capacity of police to respond to violent crimes in the area, following the closure of the local police station,” Mr Redman said.
“The Police Minister was unable to justify the response time but acknowledged in his reply that situations such as this are horrendous and that people look to the police to give them support and protection when such events occur.”
Mr Redman said this incident clearly demonstrated that the necessity for Tambellup and Mt Barker police to travel distances of 30 and 40 kilometres to respond to calls from Cranbrook puts them well and truly behind the eight ball in terms of a rapid response to crime.
“Despite the Police Minister’s protestations last August, it was always crystal clear to the Cranbrook community that the decision to remove their local officers to Tambellup and Mt Barker would have a negative impact on police response times,” Mr Redman said.
“The Minister has persisted with his rationale that closing small stations and relocating their officers to larger stations - leaves more officers operational for more of the time’ (Hansard August 15, 2007), but that argument provides small comfort to the residents of Cranbrook.
“The people of Cranbrook may well form the view that their police station has been yet another victim of staffing shortages, exacerbated by this Government’s failure to provide adequate incentives to attract officers to the country.”
