Police Custody Officers

[Caddy1]

I saw the new Custody Officer Special Constables training today in Ocean Reef Marina. Just wondering if anyone knows anything about them/their role. They appeared to be wearing the WAPOL uniform minus the shoulder flashes.

[Froggles]

Hey Caddy1,

They are taking over the duties at the watch house as a primary role and also taking care of juvie escorts to regional areas. The uniform is very similar except for the white name badges (with surname and regimental) and the missing epaulets on the shoulder (its a grabbing point).

They were out there today doing vehicle familiarisation - basically driving around cones and such all day.

Hope that helps

[Caddy1]

Thanks it certainly does. So will they be taking over from GSL eventually or will that remain a private contract? What sort of pay rate are these blokes on is it comparable to a PC salary? I noted the big vans they are driving, what monsters!! So is that the uniform they will be wearing in their operational role or will they be wearing the navy blue overalls similar to the dog handlers?

[Froggles]

I very much doubt that the GSL contract will go non-private.

As far as pay goes, CO's are emplyed under the general public service EBA and as such have the same pay levels as them (dependant on level). The best thing is the shift penalties that come with that EBA - earn far more than regular coppers on a public holiday.

I agree, those big vans are truley monsters to drive - let alone reverse

Operational uniform is up to the individual. Comfort vs. practicality in most cases.
Can wear overalls or the setup you saw today.

[Caddy1]

Thanks again, its interesting to see WA go down this path and its good to see this is now a specialised role freeing up regular PC's for operational roles. I think that NT Police has a similar role but they call them Auxiliary Police. I don't think Custody Officer would be a fun job however :S I think I'll stick with my cushy Local Government job

[Froggles]

No problems mate.

QLD has custody officers but they are far less trained than WA's

WA is heading down the path of Auxiliary Police later in the year - Somewhat similar to the UK model I think. It's a bit up in the air at the moment.

I personally think its a brilliant idea to free up frontline coppers to the..well..frontline

As for the fun part - I dare say you would see some damned funny things on the weekends (funny haha and funny bizzare). Good experience methinks.

[TheDoc]

just to give a heads up GSL have been taken over by G4S or most commmonly known as Group 4 Securis

[Caddy1]

Thats interesting, I was wondering when Australia would follow suit and introduce a Police Reform Act similar to the UK to introduce a PCSO type role. I would be very interested in further developments in this if you are able to let me know through private email? What sort of tasks would the PCSO/Auxiliary Police be doing? Would it all be in office/admin type style or actually engaging with the community like the UK model? It is interesting as well as many of the roles performed by PCSO's in the UK are the equivalent to the roles performed by Shire Rangers in Australia. It'd be very exciting to see how this works!!!

[ConstableCare]

Thanks it certainly does. So will they be taking over from GSL eventually or will that remain a private contract?

They have been primarily employed to look after the Perth Watch House.

GSL / G4S or whatever their name is today will still carry out the Prison Escort duties.

CC

[woobla1]

From what I have heard from people. The UK special (auxillary) cops aren't that respected. But hey if it makes the community feel more safer even if it really isn't then I guess seeing more uniformed 'cop's around will do. Still no substitute for the real thing.

[dazla]

I believe that in the NT they are used in the Watch House, Communications and Front Counter within Police Stations.

Almost goes along with the idea of having Reserve Police officers, similar to the Army Reserves for backfilling spots doing beats etc.

[johnsq]

We had a car "wapol paddy wagon" from east perth come through today to drop off a person in custody, i was surprised to see the driver who had worked with us for about a month before going for police custody training driving the car! So there are public servants driving marked police cars out there hmmmmm, then again you see the odd P plater driving marked and un-marked cars so anythings possible

[dazla]

To bad if they get waved down at a prang or stumble upon an assault........LOOK THE COPS ARE HERE.....or are they??:)

[Froggles]

All WA Police staff are allowed to drive police vehicles - even if they are not police officers. Hell, I even know of a non-police staff (still govt.) having a take-home unmarked sedan.

If waved down at a prang or witness an assault in progress, there are radios in the car, so a quick call to VKI should get some coppers out there pretty quickly. There is also the chance that they could stop and exercise every citizens right and perform a citizens arrest.(Not generally advised but..hey...TPC.)

PS. Good to see you stalking the forums again daz

[fiorellino]

hi!
would anyone know what are the shift starting times for custody officers at perth watch house?
and do you get rostered some days, some nights, or is it few months of days, then few months of night shifts?
ta