CPO Scott Lee and Police Minister Dr Marisa Paterson. Works over the next year will keep the Winchester and city stations running while planning for new facilities. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
A new home for the ACT’s police remains a long way off, but there is money in next week’s Budget to fix ongoing issues at the struggling Winchester and city facilities, and to identify a site for a new headquarters and station in the CBD.
The Budget provides more than $3.7 million for critical infrastructure upgrades at Winchester in Belconnen and the City Police Station, including mechanical, electrical, fire and hydraulic systems, and planning for new stations.
Both facilities are considered unfit for purpose, and the city station has suffered from water and raw sewage leaks.
Some staff had to be permanently relocated to the AFP headquarters in Barton in early 2024 after being told that it was no longer safe to work at the city station. Twice this year, urine and faeces have been detected trickling into the below-ground watch house from burst pipes.
$3.7 million was the lowest amount indicated in the 2024 ACT Policing Strategic Asset Management Plan, required over four years to address the issues facing police staff in these buildings.
Funding for the repairs will be brought forward, but the $3.7 million in the Budget will also cover detailed planning and analysis for future police accommodation in the Woden Patrol Zone and a Molonglo Police Station.
Police Minister Marisa Paterson said the planned works over the next 12 months would keep the Winchester and city stations operational while planning for new facilities.
“We know those buildings are end of life, which is exactly why there was money in last year’s Budget to inform and develop a business case that will go to Cabinet to see a replacement facility,” she said.
Dr Paterson said the rectification works would stabilise those facilities, keep them safe and meet minimum work, health and safety requirements.
Chief Police Officer Scott Lee said he was satisfied with the Budget funding for rectification works and planning for a new city headquarters and station.
“That was part of the asset management plan that was negotiated between ourselves and JACS in relation to the fire, hydraulic and other electrical maintenance that we need to put in place to ensure that those stations stay open,” he said.
The City Police Station has suffered water and sewage leaks. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CPO Lee said the government had also been very supportive of the need to prioritise identifying a new location for a city police headquarters and a city police station.
“I’m comfortable we’ve done everything that we can with government, and also with other directorates, to ensure that we identify the work that needs to be done in that location, and now we’ve got a plan moving forward to ensure that we’re out of that [city] facility as soon as we can be,” he said.
He said work over the next 12 months to identify the best options for the future Woden Valley and Molonglo stations was also important.
“We’ve obviously got an expanding community in Molonglo. But within Woden, we’ve also got significant needs to be serviced there, particularly with light rail going through, so it will look at all of those factors and … provide us with a number of options and obviously we’ll work with government around what’s best to meet both community needs,” he said.
Dr Paterson did not have a timeframe for a new police station in Molonglo, stating it was dependent on the Suburban Land Agency’s development of the Town Centre.
“As that work progresses, front and centre of that will be the Molonglo Police Station, but … I don’t have indicative timeframes,” she said.
The Canberra Liberals said the funding was nowhere near enough.
They said government documents showed all police sites owned by the ACT Government have either exceeded the end of their life or are approaching the end of life “due to systemic underinvestment that has not kept pace with the demanding operational requirements placed upon the asset portfolio.”.
Police and Community Safety spokesperson Deborah Morris said years of systemic underinvestment made a mockery of community safety and the ACT’s police.
“This is barely a drop in the ocean of what is required just to keep the doors of our police stations open,” she said.
“Labor’s commitment to basically do nothing betrays our police who are stretched dangerously thin and are being forced to work in unsafe, squalid conditions, and betrays anyone in our community who relies on police services in their darkest hour.”
The government is also allocating $6.45 million over two years to implement the Sexual Assault Advocate Pilot Program, a key recommendation of the Sexual Assault (Police) Review.
This includes establishing a fourth Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team to manage high investigative caseloads, funding for dedicated sexual assault advocates to support victim-survivors during police engagement and a new Witness Assistant Scheme officer in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
CPO Lee said the fourth Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team would begin its work in August, after a five-month surge of 12 officers in that area ends.
He said the funding for the victim-survivor advocates was nation-leading and particularly important to ensure that police continued to focus on better outcomes for victim-survivors.
“That victim support advocate role will be particularly important to support our investigators responding to sexual assault matters,” CPO Lee said.
“What we also need to recognise is that this is nation-leading, so that’s the first time you’ve got some type of integrated arrangement like that to deliver those services.”
The Budget also includes $112 million over four years to pay for the recently agreed Australian Federal Police Enterprise Agreement and support ongoing services.
