Cessnock mayor Bob Pynsent and State MP Clayton Barr say they will continue to push for better police resources in the Cessnock local government area.
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Cr Pynsent said last week’s news that Cessnock has the second-worst rate of car theft in NSW was the “tipping point” for him to write directly to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, seeking a meeting to discuss the issue.
Cessnock Council wrote to Police Minister Troy Grant in October last year to raise its concerns about the re-engineering of the NSW Police Force, which eventually saw Cessnock and Kurri Kurri moved into the Hunter Valley Command (which has headquarters in Muswellbrook) in January.
Mr Grant said he was unable to meet with Cr Pynsent at the time, but he was “confident the re-engineering of the NSW Police Force will provide our community with the tailored policing services it deserves”.
Cr Pynsent said he feels the restructure is not working out the way people would have hoped, and that the Cessnock LGA, with 56,000 residents, should have the highest proportion of police in the command.
EARLIER REPORT: Pynsent to take plea for police to Premier
Mr Barr said he welcomed the support from the mayor and council, and that Cessnock Police Station is currently facing a “chicken-egg moment” in which it could not house new officers until the station is upgraded.
“The current Cessnock Police Station is well past its used by date and is too small to house the required police numbers – never mind additional police,” Mr Barr said.
“We can’t get extra police until we get our station is re-built.
“So to achieve this, I have been meeting with, speaking to and writing to the various Police Ministers over the past seven years.
“You simply have to be the annoying, nagging, squeaky wheel on these types of issues and I have been dedicated to that.
“It also helps that the facts, the condition of the building, along with the crime rates, support the demands for the new station.”
Mr Barr said Mr Grant – a former detective who was based at Cessnock in the 1990s – knows “how bad the station is”.
A spokesperson for Mr Grant’s office said the Police Minister is committed to providing police with the resources they need to do their job effectively, and is committed to working with the Commissioner to ensure police facilities are maintained appropriately.
“While serving in the NSW Police Force, Minister Grant worked from the Cessnock station and he has since returned to inspect the station and meet with station and command staff. He has recently seen first-hand the condition of the facility,” the spokesperson said.
“Northern Region and NSW Police Force Properties are currently working on a solution to accommodate all police who service Cessnock within the area.”
