A public-private partnership has been foreshadowed as an option for a new police centre in the city which would release prime land in Belconnen worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the ACT government, although the dire need for a station in the Molonglo Valley remains uncertain.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said in discussions with the Chief Police Officer and AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw around possible city sites "it's important to note that government doesn't have to build or own the buildings that the stations are located in".
"So a potential outcome ... is an approach to market with the government taking out a long-term tenancy arrangement on behalf of ACT Policing in a building that is privately owned [in the city]," he said.
Replacing the oldest of the ACT police facilities, City Police Station on London Circuit, is seen as a key element to the budget-funded feasibility study however, the city watch house sits under the station and it performs a hugely important operational function, and its location close to the courts is seen as a fundamental requirement.
Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan said discussion would start with key directorates, such as Justice and Community Safety, around better servicing the fast-growing Molonglo Valley, which is expected to double in population by 2028.
The Molonglo Valley currently falls within the Woden patrol zone, which will also boom in population in the next five years as major residential developments now under construction hit the market.
A new $66-million fire and ambulance facility for the Molonglo Valley has received funding in the upcoming ACT budget, and the Australian Federal Police Association expressed its disappointment ACT police didn't get a specific budget allocation to match it.
Association president Alex Caruana said he questioned the rationale behind not also funding a dedicated police station for Molonglo, for which former ACT Liberal local member Giulia Jones had actively campaigned for years.
"The Woden patrol zone is already enormous and the Molonglo Valley is already increasing in size and population," Mr Caruana said.
"Wouldn't it be wise to create an emergency services precinct with a new police station to cater for this expansion?"
Deputy Commissioner Gaughan was cautious around future resource allocation plans, and said funds allocated to a six-month feasibility study in the budget would allow police to concentrate on "better servicing ... those growth areas of the ACT like the Molonglo Valley".
"I'm not convinced we need another police station," he said.
"I think the issue is whether we have the current police stations in the right spot[s]."
Police received budget funding for 126 extra officers over five years. The sworn workforce currently numbers 770 officers, which is well under the national police average across all Australian jurisdictions although the ACT government has repeatedly argued it has a different operational environment to everywhere else.
However, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he did not expect police to carry "the entire burden of the public sector's response" to burgeoning social issues such as mental health and family violence.
"A real emphasis in this process has been on collaboration, and what I've asked of ministers in the government is to work together to bring forward policy options ... that respond to the range of issues in a multi-disciplinary way," he said.
"Such as how government agencies help, how can emergency services partner with police, how can mental health areas partner with police, how can our domestic and family violence response partner with police to achieve the sort of outcomes we are looking for across a wide range of service delivery."
The police association says putting a single 25-person recruit class through the college is a 12-month process, from the time it takes to advertise, identify suitable candidates and then security vet each individual, then train them for the job.
One of the bottlenecks which artificially caps recruiting and training throughout is the physical size of AFP College at Barton, which also has to train officers for other areas of the federal police cohort, such as protective services, and run regular training courses for other disciplines.
Yet the budgeted drip-feed of more police into ACT ranks is one which suits Deputy Commissioner Gaughan.
"One thing obviously with new recruits coming in is that they need to be adequately trained on the job and that's one reason why I'm quite confident this slower process is the way to go," he said.
"It's impossible for me to ingest 100 officers into ACT police in 12 months; it just can't work."
The Chief Minister was coy around what may happen to the huge amount of prime Belconnen real estate on which the Winchester Police Station sits when the headquarters moves to the city.
"[As] to the obvious question of alternative uses for current locations ... the feasibility work will determine the best pathway forward and timeframes," he said.
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