The Queensland Government is backing the state’s police service with the critical new equipment frontline officers need to do their job. The Queensland Police Service has taken delivery of millions of dollars worth of new Body Worn Cameras and Tasers, which will soon be unpacked and deployed to the frontline.
In total, the government is investing $19.8 million in new and replacement Body Worn Cameras and Tasers. Over the next twelve months, the entire fleet of 5,400 Tasers will be replaced with new equipment.
In addition, more Tasers are being added to the fleet to ensure the additional frontline police currently being recruited through to 2025 have access to a Taser. The fleet of Body Worn Cameras is also being increased from 7,700 to 12,200 so that every frontline officer is equipped with this vital piece of technology. The new technology will also support new ways of gathering evidence.
The pending Video Recorded Evidence (VRE) Pilot on the Gold Coast and at Ipswich means those Police Districts are the first to receive the new cameras. The VRE Pilot will see statements obtained from victims of domestic and family violence electronically via a Body-Worn Camera rather than a typewritten statement.
During a visit to inspect the new equipment with Police Minister Mark Ryan, the Police Commissioner said it was vital that officers had the best of the best. She noted that policing can be challenging and at times dangerous, so all officers must have access to the equipment they need on the frontline. There is a lot of planning going into the rollout of this new equipment, she added.
She also noted that the government is making the biggest investment in policing in this state in more than three decades to deliver more than 2,000 extra police personnel and so we need to make sure we have all the gear those extra officers are going to need.
Meanwhile, the Police Minister stated that the government would always back the police one hundred per cent. He noted that the government is investing in the resources, the people, the training, and the equipment that Queensland’s police service deserves and needs. This move is part of a ‘historic investment’. The Government is investing over $600 million to deliver more than 2,000 extra police personnel.
In addition to this investment is a $300 million police infrastructure pipeline to ensure our growing police service has the facilities and infrastructure it needs. The Minister noted that the move is a result of the government’s investment in the critical pieces of equipment a modern police service requires.
“These investments are all about having the best police service, investments that will further enhance the Queensland Police Service’s capability to support community safety right across the state,” he said.
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