Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the Opposition should take responsibility for the fact the force is short thousands of officers.
Paul Toole is critical of the low levels of staffing here on the Far South Coast after the release of the latest average local response time…15 minutes 58 seconds.
But Ms Catley said she is working hard to clean up the mess Mr Toole left her.
““Keeping the community safe is always the top priority for police who receive thousands of calls for assistance every day. It is important that people feel safe and free to go about their daily lives, no matter where they live,” she said.
“Many factors contribute to how quickly officers arrive at a location and the truth is, geography and the number of urgent calls can play a huge role, particularly in regional areas.
“I want to be clear that when someone calls triple zero with an emergency, police move as fast as they can.
“We hold every commander accountable to performance benchmarks – it’s a key part of ensuring our response times and service meet the standards our communities deserve.”
The Minister added the Far South Coast would benefit from the graduation of over 300 new recruits set to graduate from the Goulburn Police Academy tomorrow.
“That’s the most in over 12 years. You’ll be sure to see some of them in your neighbourhood,” she said.
