BY BELLA MIDDLETON
Four new NSW Police Force members have been sent to serve across the Hunter region after graduating from the Police Academy in Goulburn in the first graduation ceremony of 2021.
The new recruits will join the Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie Police Districts on Monday.
No new officers have been sent to the Newcastle area, despite recent calls for more police presence from residents and politicians alike after an increase in crime across the suburbs.
State Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery, has expressed her disappointment in the decision, after a Wallsend Henny Penny was robbed at gun point in February.
"It is disappointing to see that despite crime being on the rise in our area that no new recruits are being sent our way to bolster our numbers," Ms Hornery said.
"In the last few weeks we have had multiple incidents involving shots being fired in residential streets in Wallsend and a business being robbed at gun point."
Ms. Hornery says local police have told her they're being stretched to the breaking point with massive caseloads and large amounts of officers on leave across the area.
The NSW Government has devoted $583 million over four years to deliver the biggest single increase for the force in over 30 years, with 1500 new officers set to be trained and distributed across the state.
