WA Premier Roger Cook 'not advised' lack of staffing has led to DV monitoring problems, as job ad posted

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The WA Government has refused to confirm if staffing issues have contributed to a gap in monitoring of some alleged domestic violence perpetrators. The Department of Justice started recruiting for its monitoring program after it was revealed last week it's "not feasible" for authorities to use the GPS tracking technology outside of Perth.

Transcript

00:00For a week, the region's patchy grid has taken the fall for why some criminals and

00:07alleged offenders can't be tracked by authorities.

00:10The technology associated with electronic monitoring devices was too reliant upon mobile networks.

00:17Mobile phone coverage is a very important part of it.

00:20We anticipated that there would be times when electronic monitoring wouldn't be fit for purpose.

00:25The WA government introduced laws last year making it a legal requirement in WA

00:30to monitor alleged offenders of the most serious domestic violence cases with GPS trackers.

00:36In the past week alone, at least two alleged offenders have been released on bail

00:41without electronic monitoring in the regions.

00:44The Premier refused to confirm whether staffing could be contributing to the issue when asked on ABC Radio.

00:49So there are some technical limitations to the electronic monitoring system.

00:54What is technical?

00:56It's simple.

00:57Staff or black spots?

00:58That's right.

00:59Which is it?

01:00Well, I'm advised that it's black spots.

01:01Black spots in Albany?

01:03Or black spots in Denmark?

01:04Or Bunbury?

01:05Well, it depends on the individual and where they live.

01:07The Department of Justice posted this job ad last week for electronic monitoring officers,

01:13two days after news broke that GPS monitoring isn't feasible outside of Perth.

01:18The ad states the recruitment pool may also be used to fill other positions.

01:23It doesn't suggest that there's staffing issues.

01:25It does suggest that we need to continue to make sure that we've got great people working in our public sector.

01:30But the Premier wouldn't directly rule out staffing as a contributing factor.

01:35The The Premier must keep the chance to find an important role in the EU.

01:37We're going to support all units.

01:38The Premier has been tried in the öffentlich sector where the Premier is required to freelean services.

01:43The Premier has been tried in the EU.

01:44The Premier has been tried in the EU.

01:45The Premier has been tried in the EU.

01:46At the EU.

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