The Report on Government Services released today has revealed that there were 45 fewer sworn police officers in 2014-15 compared to 2013-14.

Operational and non-operational sworn police officers

2013-14 – 4,496

2014-15 – 4,451

The figures reaffirm that the Weatherill Government will not come anywhere near meeting its ‘Recruit 300’ police election promise – which requires them to increase sworn police numbers to more than 4,700 by 2018.

“This is a broken promise plain and simple, and it is time for the Weatherill Labor Government to admit it and apologise to the people of South Australia,” said Shadow Minister for Police and Correctional Services Dan van Holst Pellekaan.

“Labor has reduced South Australian police numbers at a time when we are asking police to do more than ever before – to crack down on domestic violence, address the scourge of ice and deal with threats of terrorism.”

The same report has also revealed that South Australia’s prison population has increased by almost 10 per cent in 12 months, with the rate of prisoner on prisoner serious assaults increasing by 125 per cent and prisoner on officer assaults increasing by 88 per cent.

“It has been a tumultuous 12 months for our corrections system,” said Mr Van Holst Pellekaan.

“Overcrowding is a serious problem affecting our prisons on a daily basis; we have also seen

record levels of prisoner numbers, and daily use of police cells to deal with the corrections overflow.

“Our justice system is at breaking point and the Weatherill Labor Government needs to take action to fix it now.”