Ballina Police Station ‘ill-equipped, unsafe’
Police in Ballina say they are being forced to travel to Lismore and Byron Bay to charge offenders because the local police station is ill-equipped and unsafe to hold them.
“The police station charge room in Ballina has put police at risk for too long,” says Ballina Police Association branch vice-chairman, Mal Sutherland.
“The charge room – used for violent and agitated offenders – has none of the standard safety features that are needed to protect police.
“It can only hold one offender and where suspects become violent, police are at risk of injury because there simply isn’t enough room to get out of the way.
“Having to transport offenders to surrounding police stations has broader implications for the Ballina community.
“Every time our police are forced out of the region it means they aren’t available to deal with local calls for response in a timely manner.
“This is completely unacceptable and must be fixed now.”
Mr Sutherland says these are not the only problems at the Ballina police station.
“The charge room issues are just the beginning,” he said.
“This week we’ve had raw sewage overflowing in the van dock – an area that still has no security despite local police raising this as a concern.
“It’s absolutely disgraceful.”
The Police Association has met with representatives of NSW Police and been told that treasury will not provide any funding to fix the problems in the coming financial year.
“We need action now so that police can stay in Ballina, serving and protecting the local community at all times,” Mr Sutherland said.
“As it stands police are being asked to risk their own safety because treasury want to save a few dollars. It simply isn’t good enough.”
Police are calling on the local community to support their campaign for an upgrade to facilities at the Ballina police station.
May 24th, 2008 at 1:58 am
Sounds very much like occupational health and safety matters to me. I would strongly advise our local police to head straight to the ‘Work Safety Australia Offices’ in Moon street opposite “Sherlock Dentistry” (Ballina RSL end of Moon st.). This body will actually assess the site and lobby on your behalf for a positive outcome. I agree….this is disgraceful. Our local police need optimal working conditions for the VERY important job they do for our community. Residents feel safer with your presence here and it would be to the detriment of the community if you ceased to be here! Time for an upgrade!!! On behalf of the Ballina Community…….Deborah
June 19th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
[...] Don Page has called on the NSW Labor Government to urgently find the funds required to rectify the structural deficiencies at Ballina Police [...]