INCREASING the hours officers keep a Riverland police station open could see emergencies in the community go unattended, a local MP claims.
Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services Vincent Tarzia last month visited the Riverland and toured the Renmark police station with Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone.
Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone said further discussion was needed to find “the right balance” between attending the station and meeting community needs.
“People have been concerned about the lack of administrative help at the station,” Mr Whetstone said.
“We’ve seen recently there was a local person who had a serious medical episode (and) because police were out on the beat, they were able to respond straight away and they saved his life.
“(That is) opposed to having to keep the police station open and potentially not get out to that person in time.
“I would like to think SAPOL has the capacity to be more versatile, so people could ring in and make appointments with them, or the police could come out to their homes.”
Mr Whetstone said current circumstances surrounding COVID-19 required local police to spend more time out on patrols.
“I’ll always advocate for my constituents’ concerns, but I think we need to get a good outcome,” he said.
“How much benefit is the community getting by somebody sitting at a desk, or having someone out on the beat keeping our community safe?”
A SAPOL spokesperson advised Renmark residents to contact local police by phone for any “non-urgent” matters.
“If the Renmark Police Station front counter is closed for administrative type services, it’s most likely because our police are actively patrolling our community or responding to a call for assistance,” the spokesperson said.
“The community can contact SAPOL on 131 444 to make a report for a range of matters, rather than having to physically attend at a police station.
“Calling 131 444 can also be used to arrange non-urgent, local police assistance.”
Riverlanders are reminded to ring 000 in case of an emergency.