Question - ACT Policing

I refer to the AFP annual report, which shows that ACT Policing did not hit their required target in responding to priority 1 critical incident calls—so called “life or death” situations—or priority 2 calls, which require a response within 20 minutes. Minister, why didn’t ACT Policing meet the priority 1 or priority 2 targets?

All reports made to ACT Policing are prioritised in accordance with dispatch protocols, meaning those where people are in danger are prioritised higher with a faster response time.

In accordance with the 2021-22 Purchase Agreement and the prioritised response model, ACT Policing utilises a three-tier incident response prioritisation framework:

• Priority One incidents are defined as life threatening or time critical situations;
• Priority Two incidents are defined as situations where the information provided indicates that time is important, but not critical; and
• Priority Three incidents are defined as incidents where there is no immediate danger to safety or property.

Though ACT Policing did not meet its Priority One or Priority Two targets as documented in the 2021-22 Annual Report, the failure to meet Performance Measures eight and nine is symptomatic of increased calls for service and additional pressure on police to respond within target timeframes.

Priority Two matters have increased 30 per cent in the last seven years, demonstrating this increased demand on ACT Policing. 

The ACT Government is continuing to invest in and work with ACT Policing to deal with this increased demand.