The Port’s police boundaries will expand on Sunday when it absorbs part of the Central Hunter Local Area Command to create a new police district.
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From January 14, the Port Stephens Local Area Command will no longer exist.
Instead, Port Stephens and the northern part of the Central Hunter command will merge to create the new Port Stephens/Hunter police district.
It comes as part of the NSW Police Force’s “re-engineering” of its 34 LACs. These commands will be replaced by 26 police districts.
Gary Worboys, Deputy Commissioner of Regional NSW Field Operations, said the changes would be “seamless”.
“People, essentially, won’t see any difference in terms of calls for service, when people need a police response,” he said.
“Where they will see a difference is a stronger presence around proactivity, around police being seen in a ‘beat’ sense, dealing with mid-level drug supply, getting stuck into the sorts of crimes like break, enter and steal and car stealing.”
The current Central Hunter commander, Detective Superintendent Craig Jackson, will lead the new Port Stephens/Hunter district.
Headquarters will be based at Raymond Terrace. The bulk of Maitland’s current team is expected to continue working from the Maitland station.
Superintendent Jackson has previously told Fairfax Media that he will work between the Terrace and Maitland police stations.
Port Stephens Acting Superintendent Steve Laksa will move back into an Inspector role.
Detective Inspector George Radmore, formerly the crime manager for Port Stephens who moved to the Central Hunter in 2016, will be the crime manager for the new district.
An officer-in-charge will be appointed at Maitland, Nelson Bay and Raymond Terrace.
Deputy Commissioner Worboys said senior police of the new district will be expected to regularly engage with community leaders and to solve their crime-related problems.
He also put to rest fears that smaller police stations, such as those in Karuah and Lemon Tree Passage, would be shut down.
“We’re definitely not closing any police stations. It's a real part of fabric of country communities and I support that,” he said.
“But in saying that, no one wants to see a police officer sitting in a police station waiting for a phone call. I want people to understand that if they have a police officer in their town or village, it’s really poor practice to have them sitting in a station. We want them out driving around, interacting with the community, with other police and being proactive.”
Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
