“Rostering practices” at Walgett Police Station mean police are not attending non-violent domestic offences at night, a Walgett officer has claimed. 

In a letter to the Commander of the Western Region of NSW Police, the officer - who remains anonymous - has said a lack of rostered police means that officers are often asked not to attend non-violent domestic incidents at night but to instead hand over the ­details to the day shift. 

The letter also says officers at Walgett Police Station cannot leave the station even for violent call-outs when they have a prisoner in the cells until another officer can be recalled to duty. 

The officer says that the branch has been trying to ensure there are three officers per shift, but had so far been unsuccessful. 

“Recently it has become common to only roster two officers late at night, with the supervisor being one of those two rostered,” the letter said.  

Explaining that the need to manage in-custody matters means police in the shire have become limited in “their ability to respond to community needs."

Officers at Walgett Police Station. image: Facebook 

Premier Chris Minns told 2GB on Tuesday the reports were “concerning, police resources particularly in the bush are under enormous pressure.”  

“We need to do a better job in both recruiting and retaining police so we can meet that 1500-person deficit in the NSW Police.

“We’ve taken a whole bunch of changes that we believe are making a difference (but) it’s going to take a bit of time however." 

Image: Country Airstrips Australia. 

A 15 year-old staffing agreement between police and the union has not been updated since. 

According to figures from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, domestic violence related assaults  went up in Walgett by 33 per cent from 2019 to 2023. 

AVO breaches are up by 26 per cent and bail breaches are up by 24 per cent. 

BOCSAR data also shows domestic violence assault, break and enter and motor vehicle theft have increased in the Western Plains in the latest quarterly crime update. 

Domestic violence related assault increased an average 3.9 per cent yearly from March 2020 to March 2024 in the Far West and Orana region.