The Hunter's Parliamentary Secretary has shot-down claims made by Maitland MP, Jenny Aitchison in a press conference yesterday afternoon.
The MP issued a plea for the state government to issue more police officers to the electorate, saying Maitland's dire lack of police has forced officers to choose which lives to save.
Scot MacDonald has labelled the claim irresponsible and untrue, as around 1000 more officers have been introduced to the area since the Liberal Government's election in 2011, bringing the total to 16, 800.
"This is a very irresponsible comment by the Labor member for Maitland that is completely wrong and erodes confidence in the Hunter police," he said.
"We are very angry with the tack taken here by the Member."
The Parliamentary Secretary is foregrounding latest statistics from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) as evidence Maitland Police are performing well.
In the two years to December 2017, 13 of 17 categories of crime remained at steady rates, while the leftover four types (murder and variations of aggravated robbery) are not assessed in local LGA trends because their occurrence is too rare.
But Jenny Aitchison is reportedly standing by her claims, saying she never meant to criticise police competency, but rather, draw attention to how underresourced they are.
She met with Shadow Minister for Police, Guy Zangari in Thornton yesterday, and said: "Police in Maitland do an amazing job...but we are the highest for domestic violence in the state, that takes up an inordinate amount of their resources."
Scot MacDonald has disputed that point as well, saying domestic violence rates in the Maitland LGA have remained steady over the past two years and are not the highest in NSW.
"It's a very serious matter, domestic violence," he said,"I would urge the Member to look at the BOSCAR figures which are publicly available.
"The response to domestic violence is not helped when people don't understand the issue and are misleading the public...headline grabbing is not the way to protect the public.
"I really do question Jenny Aitchison's fitness for public office."
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| Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison and Shadow Police Minister Guy Zangari meeting local pastors to discuss crime in the LGA. Image: Maitland Mercury. |
