The Hodgman Liberal Government went to the election promising to remove police from court duties and put them back on the beat, and we are delivering on that promise.
I am very pleased to announce the Tasmania Prison Service will immediately recruit six new Correctional Officers who will assume responsibility from Tasmania Police for court security and prisoner transport in the Launceston Supreme Court.
We want our police officers to be on the beat protecting Tasmanians rather than minding defendants in courts, and this is a great outcome that will mean up to six extra police officers per day are free to patrol the streets and keep the community safe.
The six new Correctional Officers will be in addition to the 30 we announced earlier this year, with 18 new recruits currently in training and advertisements in papers today to fill all remaining positions.
Today’s announcement continues our long term plan to be tough on crime and keep Tasmanians safe, and with more police on our streets and more Correctional Officers guarding our prisons, it is clear we are delivering for the community.
Labor, on the other hand, had 16 years in Government to resolve this issue and did nothing except cut 108 police officers from the frontline.
Even worse, when they finally admitted the issue needed addressing, their funding commitment was embarrassingly less than half of what is required.
It’s another demonstration that Labor can’t be trusted to deliver and simply aren’t ready to govern.