The 2024-25 State Budget includes funding for new measures that will free up more than 100 police officers and staff for operational duties.
The state government will commit $19 million over four years on developing and implementing SAPOL's digital police station.
The online system will enable people to make reports and requests regarding non urgent matters – without stepping foot in a police station.
This move will ensure police officers previously involved in such tasks spend more time on operational duties.
Examples include lodging national police certificate requests, freedom of information requests, vehicle collision reports, and clamping and impounding payments. It will also host the public child sex offender register.
All elements of the digital police station are expected to be up and running by 2027-8. Over the next four years it will progressively create efficiencies to the equivalent of 47 SAPOL police officers and staff, ensuring any impacted police officers are working on operational policing duties, freeing them up from other tasks.
There is also $8.5 million over four years to fast track a telephone resolution desk.
Originally funded from 2026-27, funding has been brought forward to accelerate the project - enabling recruitment to begin two years sooner.
The telephone resolution desk will enable police to contact complainants over the phone and reduce attendance at non-emergency incidents, without compromising public safety or service delivery standards. SAPOL will employ 31 administrative call takers to free up police officers to undertake the telephone resolution duties.
There is also $9.3 million over four years to employ up to 24 civilians for internal roles in corporate or administrative areas of SAPOL. Once again, this measure is designed to free up more police for operational duties.
These measures together free up more than 100 police officers and staff for operational duties.
In last year's budget, funding was provided for 189 Police Security Officers - again to allow sworn police to return to front line duties. These latest investments take that number to nearly 300.
As put by Stephen Mullighan
Community safety is a top priority.
The 2024-25 State Budget builds on last year's investment to recruit more Police Security Officers by funding new initiatives to see even more police on the front line.
As put by Dan Cregan
We have recruited dozens of additional police officers over the past year and this budget will complement and expand on those efforts.
The new measures will free up the equivalent of more than 100 police officers and staff, enabling them to get on with core police work and keep the community safe.
