Published October 2024
The Opposition is calling on the Malinauskas Labor Government to urgently outline its police recruitment and retention plan after the latest SAPOL crime statistics, released today, revealed concerning increases in crime across the State.
South Australia has witnessed a concerning spike in crime, with recent statistics revealing an increase in several offenses over the past year, including:
Shadow Minister for Community Safety, Police and Correctional Services, Jack Batty said that the latest data highlights the effects of Labor's police recruitment and retention crisis on community safety.
“We have a very sorry situation now where crime is up while cops are down,” Mr Batty said.
“The very real impact of not having enough cops on the beat is on full display – with a broad range of crimes increasing including murder, shop theft and graffiti.
“It feels like you can’t consume the news without reading about violent home invasions, suburbs being subjected to nightly firebombing or small businesses being hit with shoplifting.
“South Australians deserve to feel safe in their own homes and to shop at their local supermarket without the fear of being attacked by knife-wielding youths.”
Mr Batty expressed significant concern that South Australia will continue to see significant increases in crime until there are more police on the streets.
“Unless the number of police on the streets increase, it’s highly likely that crime will keep rising, which is a significant concern for me and, I’m sure, for many other South Australians,” Mr Batty said.
“SAPOL is severely under resourced, with a shortfall of nearly 200 police officers. Unless we better recruit, retain and resource our police officers, crime will continue to rise.
“So far, it’s clear that Labor’s Police Minister Dan Cregan’s grand plan to increase the number of officers on the beat has led to a net loss of police over the past year. We also know that nearly one in three experienced officers is considering leaving the force within the next three years.
“Labor’s Police Minister Dan Cregan has found a police recruitment crisis and managed to turn it into a police retention crisis.
“The Government must reveal their plans to retain our most experienced police officers who seem to be leaving in droves.
“With crime today skyrocketing across South Australia, we can’t afford to lose a single officer let alone a third of the force.”
Media Contact: Gretel Mead 0449 500 844
