More of Everything is Needed not just Police says CPSU
Just like the footy, Law and Order fever is back in the lead up to this year's State election and an Opposition announcement has police salivating on a possible ladder contest between the parties but this just misses overall needs.

CPSU State Secretary Karen Batt said the focus on just a single occupation is too simplistic.

Service delivery around law and order is a matrix of connecting occupations all supporting each other and all deserving dollars.

More police also requires more forensic and fingerprinting, more cells and courts, more community corrections and counsellors, more housing and even more child protection staff.

More police without all the toppings just leaves us with the same problems we experience now.

Those of us who have been around and seen these facile bidding wars over the years know it only skews real debate about what areas need more public resources.

$150K for each new constable is not the best bang for the public buck.

Multiply that by the Opposition's commitment to 1600 extra police and we're talking serious spending ($240 million or 12% of the budget) and at the expense of everything else.