Penrith and St Marys Local Area Commands will merge as part of a complete restructure of the NSW Police Force.
The merger, which has been rumoured for some time, was confirmed this afternoon by Deputy Commissioner of Metropolitan Field Operations, Jeff Loy.
“The Commissioner has outlined the need to future proof the NSW Police Force with the recent announcement to consolidate some commands across the Sydney Metropolitan Region,” he said.
“Over the past several months I have undertaken extensive consultation looking at crime trends, population density and expected growth, as well as the unique needs of each community to develop a new structure that will take the organisation into the future.
“Consolidated Commands across the Metropolitan Region will see more police on the frontline, better equipped and with a greater pool of resources to proactively disrupt and prevent crime.
“Penrith and St Marys areas are both well serviced and will continue to be, acknowledging they are growth hubs with a strong work sector, public transport and education and health precincts.”
Deputy Commissioner Loy promised that the merger of the two Local Area Commands would not impact on police operations and response times.
“The consolidated Command will have improved flexibility to deploy police to where they are needed and have a greater capacity to improve police response times,” he said.
“The two commands already share Duty Officers and all current services will remain.
“There will be a streamlining of management teams to put more boots on the frontline.
“Officers in Penrith and St Marys have strong ties with the local community and those relationships will continue under the consolidated Command.
“This restructure will ensure better policing practices and better service to the community.”
Last week Shadow Police Minister Guy Zangari warned against the proposed merger.
