The Malinauskas Labor Government is returning more than 70 police officers to the beat, following a significant funding boost in police recruitment.
Almost $82 million dollars is being invested over four years to hire an extra 189 Police Security Officers to replace sworn police in areas such as custody management.
Already this measure is allowing dozens of sworn police officers to return to the frontline.
As a result, SAPOL is allocating additional resources to combat the scourge of youth crime, with the formation of a new Youth and Street Gangs Task Force.
The existing Operation Meld and Operation Mandrake initiatives will merge and an extra 13 police officers will join their ranks.
Almost 20 extra officers will bolster efforts investigating financial and cybercrime, as well as anti-shoplifting initiative Operation Measure.
A further 13 officers will support domestic violence investigations, while 14 more officers will be deployed to support regional communities.
Airborne policing operations will also be expanded, with an additional 14 tactical flight officers joining the team.
It comes as South Australia is ranked the top performing state when it comes to the number of police per capita, according to a new report.
The 2023-24 Report on Government Services (ROGS) by the national Productivity Commission shows SAPOL has 235 sworn officers per 100,000 people, the most of any state and more than 9 per cent higher than the national average.
As put by Stephen Mullighan
The State Government has continued to bolster police resources and the boost to funding is now getting more police officers into frontline duties.
These more than 70 sworn police officers are being allocated to policing areas where the community is most concerned, especially youth and street gangs, shoplifting and domestic violence.
As put by Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, SA Police
We are focusing resources in frontline areas and doing what matters most in areas that will have the most impact, the most benefit in responding to public concerns over safety and emerging crime trends.
These include areas that both proactively investigate and respond to cybercrime incidents, youth crime, family violence, retail theft and our increasing reliance on airborne law enforcement operations.
With the growing imbalance between our resources and demand, we will continue to look for opportunities to rationalise services to deliver similar frontline services where they matter the most.
