A re-elected majority Liberal Government will make Tasmania an even safer place to live by recruiting an additional 125 Police Officers in the next term of Government.

This will take total police numbers to 1362, after they fell to 1120 following cuts under the Labor-Green minority Government.

Premier Will Hodgman said the increase in police numbers would help keep Tasmanian communities safe while sending the message that crime will not be tolerated in our State.

“My Government has increased police numbers by 113 after the Labor-Green cuts, as we promised we would. We will now take police numbers to the next level to make our communities safer.

“We will recruit 125 additional Police Officers in our next term of Government, with the vast majority to be deployed to the frontline at first-response 24-hour stations and in regional and rural locations around the State.

‘It’s important to remember, the reason we can do this is because we have brought the budget back into balance, which means we can afford to invest more into essential frontline services, like police.”

Police Minister Rene Hidding said this initiative was all part of the Liberals’ Plan to make Tasmania the safest state in the nation, with a target to have the lowest serious crime rate in the nation across all victimisation measures by 2022.

“The people of Tasmania expect and deserve a strong police service to keep them safe, and only a re-elected majority Liberal Government will deliver it”, Minister Hidding said.

“As Tasmania grows, the police service must grow with it and this is all about future-proofing the State to ensure it remains as crime-free as possible.

“A re-elected majority Liberal government will also introduce a Police Powers Act to consolidate and clearly define all the powers of a Police Officer, particularly in relation to the power to arrest.

“And, we will fully fund a ‘relief’ policy to ensure there is a police officer on the beat at all times in rural and remote regions.

“In addition, we will task Tasmania Police with identifying future, long-term requirements for our police force.“

Minister Hidding said only a majority Liberal Government could be trusted to deliver for Tasmania’s policing needs.

“Labor and the Greens are soft on law and order, they have opposed every single measure we have taken to crack-down on crime.

“Last time in office Labor and the Greens cut 108 police, and if given the chance, they will do it again.”

The Policy document can be found here: http://bit.ly/PoliceNextGen

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