BRUISED BLOODIED BROKEN

Emergency workers on the front line are at breaking point, with more than 150 Tasmanian police and ambulance staff off duties due to injuries or mental health issues

MORE than 100 Tasmanian police officers are off duty on workers compensation, with their union worried about the toll of frontline assaults and mental health battles among the force.

Police Association of Tasmania president Inspector Colin Riley said, on average, four police officers in Tasmania were assaulted while on the beat each week.

Of those on workers compensation, 62 were for physical injuries and the remainder were for mental health reasons.

Inspector Riley said at any given time, between one and three members were being treated in mental health facilities.

Retired detective senior constable Robyn Button, who had a decorated career in the force spanning almost four decades, said she witnessed many colleagues suffer emotionally in that time, including her late husband, who was also a police officer and endured post traumatic stress disorder.

“It’s not just a major issue for the serving officers but it impacts on their families as well,’’ she said.

“With PTSD you have mood swings, an inability to communicate and withdrawal from social activities.”

She said she loved her job but it was dangerous and marked by the ongoing threat of violence and unpredictability of people armed with weapons or under the influence of drugs.

Last month, a police officer suffered a stab wound to the hand when trying to break up an altercation between two women during a series of events in the Derwent Valley.

Inspector Riley referenced other examples of violence against police in the past year, including officers being bitten, deliberately driven at and, in one instance, an officer on a motorbike being reversed into.

He said the incidents were “cold reminders” of the dangers of policing.

Dealing with bushfires, family violence reports and other dramatic scenes such as road crashes also contributed to mental health issues.

“It’s a cumulative effect,’’ Inspector Riley said.

Ambulance personnel are also suffering — with 54 paramedics away from their jobs on workers compensation.

Tasmania Police Assistant Commissioner Scott Tilyard said any assault of a police officer was unacceptable.

He said 751 body-worn cameras had been deployed to frontline police, which had provided a boost to the safety of officers, the community and victims of crime.

Mr Tilyard said the force had programs to support officers’ wellbeing, including a stress management program available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A fatigue management policy for police was also being developed, he said.

Inspector Riley said police were increasingly filling capacity for the “inadequacies” of other government agencies, including doing court security, COVID compliance checks, mental health call-outs and child safety.

“Our core business is traffic, public order, emergency management, and crime,’’ he said. “But we end up doing other stuff.”

Inspector Riley said the additional duties often resulted in overtime, which led to fatigue and affected wellbeing.

Lockdowns in Tasmania due to coronavirus reduced some of the police workload, but it was now mostly back to pre-COVID levels, he said.

Assistant Commissioner Tilyard said COVID-19 had presented an unprecedented situation, with a state of emergency declared in Tasmania for the first time.

He said under this arrangement, police had played a key role in keeping people safe during the pandemic by assisting in compliance activities to prevent the spread of the virus.

Safe staffing levels at 24hour stations (implemented), a fatigue management policy, roster reform (both being worked on) and decentralisation of non-operational positions in the South to the North and North-West were key to reducing workers compensation and mental fatigue, Inspector Riley said.

The state government says it will recruit an additional 125 police officers by 2022.