200 new police officers, new station for Molonglo in Liberals' $60 million community safety package

Hundreds of new police officers and a standalone police station in the growing Molonglo Valley headline the Canberra Liberals’ $60 million community safety package that also promises a tougher response to violent crime and dangerous driving.

Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said that if elected on 19 October, the Canberra Liberals would aim to deliver an additional 200 police officers in the next term of government.

Ms Lee said the Canberra Liberals would also commit $5 million for upgrades to the Woden police station, progress options for a new Civic police station, and continue to transition the Gungahlin Joint Emergency Services Centre into a standalone police station.

Staff at both the Civic and Gungahlin premises have had to vacate the buildings this year. The aging Civic headquarters suffered water damage, and the Gungahlin centre suffered lead and diesel contamination.

Police spokesperson James Milligan said the ACT had the lowest number of police per capita in the country and an extra 200 police officers would bring the ACT in line with NSW.

“Whilst the Labor-Greens government continues to neglect our frontline police officers, the Canberra Liberals understand the basic needs for the safety of our community and have long fought for more police officers in the ACT, along with providing the resources they need,” Mr Milligan said.

“This announcement is about not only supporting our police officers but ensuring the safety of all Canberrans.”

In a get-tough-on-crime approach, Ms Lee also announced a range of changes to the judicial system to “bring it into line with community expectations”.

These are in response to community concerns about attacks on frontline workers, offences committed while on bail, dangerous driving, random assaults and knife attacks.

The Liberals would legislate to remove the presumption of bail for offenders who assault frontline workers and establish a standalone offence for breach of bail.

They would also introduce electronic monitoring of serious offenders on bail through the use of ankle bracelets.

A crackdown on dangerous driving would include tougher penalties for culpable driving, which at present attracts a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.

There would also be tougher penalties for ‘coward punch’ attacks by introducing a standalone criminal offence.

A Liberal Government would give police powers to scan people with metal-detecting wands to detect knives and issue penalties in a bid to reduce serious knife crimes.

This would follow the lead of Jack’s Law in Queensland, named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley who was stabbed to death in 2019.

Ms Lee said a Canberra Liberals Government would re-prioritise community safety by boosting police numbers, building a more robust justice system, and bringing ACT laws back into line with community expectations.

“Every Canberran deserves to feel safe whether they are out in the community or in their own home,” Ms Lee said.

She accused Labor and the Greens of eroding public confidence in the justice system.

Ms Lee said this comprehensive suite of initiatives would restore confidence and trust in the justice system.

Shadow Attorney-General Peter Cain said the package re-aligned the justice system with community expectations by cracking down on dangerous driving, introducing tougher sentencing measures and strengthening bail laws to protect frontline workers and help prevent repeat crime,” Mr Cain said.

“The Canberra Liberals are sending a clear message: we will build a stronger justice system to make our city safer for all,” he said.