ANALYSIS

• The number of police officers who have a key emergency-related qualification increased by 50.8 per cent (1,683) from 3,311 as at 30 June 2009 to 4,994 as at 30 June 2010. The Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System course which commenced in July 2006 contributed most to this increase.

• The WA Police Force achieved its 2009-10 target of 3,000 police officers that have a key emergency-related qualification.

• The WA Police Force has adopted a more focused and competency-based approach to emergency management training. This is aimed at ensuring sufficiently qualified key personnel are available within districts to respond to emergency situations and that their skills remain current. As a consequence, certain training courses, such as Chemical, Biological and Radiological Familiarisation, are delivered less generally and more specifically to key personnel, resulting in a reduction of the number of officers trained. The competency levels of qualified officers in frontline operational roles are tested through the conducting of regular emergency training exercises and/or utilising interactive computer-based training programs that contain realistic emergency scenarios. This approach is expected to further enhance the WA Police Force emergency management preparedness.

Notes:

(a) Current means that emergency management plans have been reviewed and, where possible, exercised in the previous twelve-month period.

(b) The number of police officers shown as qualified for each of the key emergency-related courses is not mutually exclusive as a police officer may be qualified in more than one key emergency-related course.

Source:
WA Police Force, Resource Management Information System (RMIS) – Training and Qualifications.