TEGS......................or the end of.........
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:27 pm
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http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0 ... 61,00.html
Nicole Cox
March 22, 2008 05:00pm
SPECIALIST police officers could be diverted from traffic duties to man school crossings, and respond to restraining orders, violent shoplifters and domestic disputes.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Wayne Gregson has directed Traffic Enforcement Group officers to attend Priority One and Two incidents, supervise school crossings and attend traffic-related jobs _ duties now done by officers in individual police districts.
Priority One tasks are urgent, life-threatening incidents, including armed hold-ups and where weapons are being wielded.
Priority Two jobs are volatile situations such as violent offenders being held, shots fired, assaults in progress, stealing with violence, serious domestic incidents, aggressive shoplifters and breaches of restraining orders.
In a March 14 memo to traffic and operations Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Gilbert, Mr Gregson ordered the charter of the Traffic Enforcement Group be amended so the squad could be directed by the Police Operations Centre.
It is understood the move comes after a flood of complaints from district stations to police chiefs about a lack of staff, poor response times and increased responsibilities, including having to man school crossings because of a severe shortage of crossing attendants.
Senior police from the Traffic Enforcement Group this week said they were unable to speak to The Sunday Times about the directive.
But several other officers, who did not want to be named, said the changes would seriously compromise the ability of traffic officers to enforce road laws and improve road safety.
Some feared the dedicated traffic squad would soon be scrapped.
"We are the only unit doing the enforcement,'' an officer said. "In effect, this will make us another police station, not a specialist unit.''
Officers said the squad, set up in February 2005, already attended life-threatening and urgent jobs if required. Its officers last year attended 700 non-traffic related incidents.
Each week, the squad issues more than 1000 infringements for traffic offences.
Mr Gregson told The Sunday Times that the memo was issued to make ``crystal clear'' the tasks TEG officers are expected to attend.
"This is really just about making sure that we can respond to calls for assistance from the public with the closest available trained resource, which includes the TEG,'' Mr Gregson said.
"I accept the fact that they believe their core duty is traffic, but my response to that is that their core duty is being police officers.
"I was getting the sense that they thought they were wholly and solely traffic enforcement officers ... corporately we've got pressure with response times. Sometimes there is a need for everybody to take the global perspective.''
Mr Gregson did not believe the extra duties, including manning school crossings, would reduce the group's effectiveness in targeting traffic offences.
"I don't want to give (crossing duties) to any constable in any district,'' he said.
"I think it requires a little bit of skill and training and we need to centralise that duty.
"The idea there is to relieve the districts of that responsibility on most occasions.
"It's about having patrol cars out there and on the road and seen by people, and making that law-enforcement contribution.
"It's a question of balance. What is the best method for reducing the road toll? In terms of law enforcement, I think it's a combination of both giving out tickets, in terms of hardline enforcement, but also being highly visible.''
Forty-four people have died on WA roads this year. Last year, 235 people were killed -- a 10-year record high.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0 ... 61,00.html
Nicole Cox
March 22, 2008 05:00pm
SPECIALIST police officers could be diverted from traffic duties to man school crossings, and respond to restraining orders, violent shoplifters and domestic disputes.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Wayne Gregson has directed Traffic Enforcement Group officers to attend Priority One and Two incidents, supervise school crossings and attend traffic-related jobs _ duties now done by officers in individual police districts.
Priority One tasks are urgent, life-threatening incidents, including armed hold-ups and where weapons are being wielded.
Priority Two jobs are volatile situations such as violent offenders being held, shots fired, assaults in progress, stealing with violence, serious domestic incidents, aggressive shoplifters and breaches of restraining orders.
In a March 14 memo to traffic and operations Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Gilbert, Mr Gregson ordered the charter of the Traffic Enforcement Group be amended so the squad could be directed by the Police Operations Centre.
It is understood the move comes after a flood of complaints from district stations to police chiefs about a lack of staff, poor response times and increased responsibilities, including having to man school crossings because of a severe shortage of crossing attendants.
Senior police from the Traffic Enforcement Group this week said they were unable to speak to The Sunday Times about the directive.
But several other officers, who did not want to be named, said the changes would seriously compromise the ability of traffic officers to enforce road laws and improve road safety.
Some feared the dedicated traffic squad would soon be scrapped.
"We are the only unit doing the enforcement,'' an officer said. "In effect, this will make us another police station, not a specialist unit.''
Officers said the squad, set up in February 2005, already attended life-threatening and urgent jobs if required. Its officers last year attended 700 non-traffic related incidents.
Each week, the squad issues more than 1000 infringements for traffic offences.
Mr Gregson told The Sunday Times that the memo was issued to make ``crystal clear'' the tasks TEG officers are expected to attend.
"This is really just about making sure that we can respond to calls for assistance from the public with the closest available trained resource, which includes the TEG,'' Mr Gregson said.
"I accept the fact that they believe their core duty is traffic, but my response to that is that their core duty is being police officers.
"I was getting the sense that they thought they were wholly and solely traffic enforcement officers ... corporately we've got pressure with response times. Sometimes there is a need for everybody to take the global perspective.''
Mr Gregson did not believe the extra duties, including manning school crossings, would reduce the group's effectiveness in targeting traffic offences.
"I don't want to give (crossing duties) to any constable in any district,'' he said.
"I think it requires a little bit of skill and training and we need to centralise that duty.
"The idea there is to relieve the districts of that responsibility on most occasions.
"It's about having patrol cars out there and on the road and seen by people, and making that law-enforcement contribution.
"It's a question of balance. What is the best method for reducing the road toll? In terms of law enforcement, I think it's a combination of both giving out tickets, in terms of hardline enforcement, but also being highly visible.''
Forty-four people have died on WA roads this year. Last year, 235 people were killed -- a 10-year record high.
