South Australia Police go overseas for new cops to fill shortages

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A multi-million dollar campaign is underway to fill gaps in South Australia's police force. They'll be expanding the search for new recruits overseas while urging locals to sign up as well.

Transcript

00:00 After struggling to return recruitment to pre-pandemic levels,

00:05 Sapol is getting creative with its search for new officers.

00:09 We will be going out to other jurisdictions,

00:12 including the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand,

00:15 to attract the best, the keenest and most capable police.

00:20 The goal is to bring in an extra 300 recruits

00:23 and 90 security guards this financial year alone,

00:26 and it's already working through visa restrictions to make it happen,

00:30 but it'll have to compete with WA and Queensland,

00:34 who are already hunting overseas.

00:36 We're all in a very similar situation

00:38 where we've seen a downturn in interest from local applicants,

00:42 and each of the jurisdictions are taking steps

00:44 to try and recover that recruiting shortfall.

00:47 At the same time, it's calling for South Australians

00:50 to envision a career in the uniform

00:52 while looking at how pay and conditions

00:54 could be improved in future negotiations.

00:57 We've got a lot of suggestions that we'll be putting on the table

01:00 through that process that would relate directly

01:01 to the people who are currently with us

01:03 and potentially create more incentives

01:05 for people to think about policing as a career.

01:06 The ad campaign is part of a $12 million investment

01:10 from the state government to fix the problem

01:12 and features graduates who would encourage others to make the move.

01:16 Go for it. 100%. Yeah.

01:19 Guinness isn't as good here.

01:20 It's not on tap, but you'll get used to it.

01:23 I'm really enjoying my job, and it's quite easy,

01:27 and I thought it was going to be a tough time,

01:29 but it's really easy, and the team around the Seypol, it's very good.

01:32 Police have also doubled the number of recruit courses at their academy.

01:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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