Statements
Building a safer community
The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to building a safer community.
A fall in the number of assaults against police is a great outcome of our legislation to provide Tasmania Police officers with greater protection from serious assaults.
This legislation came into force in December, and it is clearly having a deterrent effect – just as we intended.
By introducing a minimum mandatory jail sentence for those convicted of causing serious bodily harm to on-duty police officers, we are deterring assaults against police and also giving reassurance to their families and friends.
Policing can be a dangerous job, and the Liberal Government is committed to supporting our officers and that includes restoring the 108 police who were cut from the frontline under the previous Labor-Green government.
More police officers on the frontline will help make our community safer, and improve the safety of our officers.
Rene Hidding, Minister for Police and Emergency Management