'High-risk' youth bailed, police station vandalised in outback town

Union warns government of 'critically inadequate policing resources' in Coober Pedy In short: The Police Association of South Australia has written to the Deputy Premier about chronic understaffing in Coober Pedy. Union president Wade Burns flagged the case of a "high-risk" youth who was bailed without electronic monitoring and an unrelated alleged attack on the local police station. What's next? A case involving the union and SA Police is ongoing before the South Australian Employment Tribunal. The state's police union claims a young repeat offender in Coober Pedy was unable to be fitted with an ankle monitor while on supervised bail, and is calling for "urgent intervention" to bolster the town's policing resources. The incident, along with an unrelated alleged attack on the local police station, has prompted the Police Association of South Australia (PASA) to write to South Australia's Deputy Premier Kyam Maher. In the letter, sighted by the ABC, the union requested Mr Maher to "intervene as a matter of urgency" as the impact of ongoing understaffing has exposed officers and the community to "foreseeable risks". "There is a real risk that these known and unmanaged hazards will culminate in a preventable tragedy affecting either a police officer or a member of the community," PASA president Wade Burns wrote in the letter. The union said a youth offender who was released from detention last week had a history of offending including trespass, motor vehicle theft and breaches of bail, as well as driving stolen vehicles toward police. Mr Burns wrote more recent and "serious" offending had led to the youth spending three weeks in custody, but he claimed the youth had been granted supervised bail without an ankle bracelet monitor. "The association understands that Youth Justice is unable to implement electronic monitoring in Coober Pedy because there are no local Youth Justice staff available to fit or monitor the device," Mr Burns wrote. "Given the youth's extensive offending history, there is a genuine concern that [they] will quickly return to criminal activity. The ABC contacted the SA Department of Human Services, which provides youth justice services, but on Wednesday the department declined to comment about its ability to facilitate electronic monitoring in the Far North town. Station vandalised in separate incident Local officers also lodged a hazard report after a separate incident last Monday, involving an "intoxicated man" who allegedly vandalised the police station. In the letter, Mr Burns said the incident happened just after 8:45pm when the man allegedly "attended the front entrance … which was closed and secured" and "used a rock to smash the front glass door". A SA Police spokesperson confirmed a man was arrested and no officers were injured. The station served around 4,000 people but was "critically under-resourced", according to Mr Burns, with only eight of 19 positions filled. In January, that figure was 10. "Inadequate policing resources, limited overnight police coverage and the inability of another government agency to provide an appropriate supervision mechanism creates an obvious and foreseeable risk," Mr Burns wrote. Deadlock after plan rejected Last year, PASA lodged an ongoing South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET) claim against SA Police to resolve the perceived issues in Coober Pedy. PASA proposed sweeping incentives to attract officers to the remote post, including rent-free housing, on-call allowances and 45 per cent overtime loading. SA Police rejected that plan, arguing it would add roughly $1 million to its annual budget. An SA Police spokesperson said it would continue monitoring resource requirements across the state and is committed to maintaining services across regional and remote communities. "If the [SAET] recommendations were to be adopted, it would result in significant inequity across regional locations," the spokesperson said. "It would see officers at Coober Pedy receiving remuneration equivalent to those required to live and work on the [APY] Lands or Oodnadatta and disproportionate to those at other regional locations. "For these reasons SAPOL will not implement the non-binding recommendation." The tribunal case is ongoing. An SA government spokesperson, who did not directly comment on the union's letter, said it has invested more than $300 million in SA Police since 2022. "South Australia has the highest per capita rate of frontline officers out of any Australian state and these investments are reflected in falling crime, and one of the lowest youth offender rates of any state,"the spokesperson said. For the people in Australia's opal mining capital, media reports of crime in their town was a concern. The Coober Pedy Retail, Business & Tourism Association said while the town had "experienced several recent incidents of property crime", these had been "presented without the broader context". "The reality is that thousands of visitors travel to Coober Pedy every year without incident," the association said in the statement. "A town carved from rock by pioneers should not be portrayed as a community living in fear of children. "We encourage anyone considering a visit to speak directly with local tourism operators, accommodation providers or community organisations."