MANY viewpoints have surfaced in the past week regarding the future of the Hunter Valley Local Area Command (LAC).
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Local and state government politicians have become involved in the discussion, following talk of potentially disbanding the Hunter Valley LAC.
On Friday, Upper Hunter and Muswellbrook Shire councils jointly called on the NSW Government to retain the Hunter Valley Local Area Command and its headquarters in Muswellbrook.
Police minister Troy Grant joined the conversation to state the current direction of the re-engineering.
He said the process was in no way about cutting officer numbers.
“The intention of re-engineering is to ensure the NSW Police Force is best placed to protect the community into the future,” Mr Grant said.
“I’ve made it very clear there will be no reduction in frontline policing.
“The process of re-engineering is designed to place more frontline officers where we need them the most.
“It’s about giving the people of NSW a police force that is flexible, nimble and prepared to face the changing and evolving crime landscape in NSW.
“The last major organisational changes to the force occurred two decades ago, and so it is timely the NSW Government is working with the NSW Police now to set itself up to protect the people of this State for generations to come.
“This process is in its infancy, and communities across the state, including in the Upper Hunter, and local police, will be consulted on any potential changes as the re-engineering continues.
“It is entirely false to suggest that police services will be diminished in any way as a result of the re-engineering.”