Fewer cops on beat but spies are on the rise

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Article from: The Australian

TWO years after Kevin Rudd came to power with a promise to boost the ranks of the Australian Federal Police, the number of sworn officers has dropped.

But while there appear to be fewer cops on the beat, the number of spies is on the rise, with ASIO reporting an overall increase in personnel.

Despite people-smuggling, terrorism and a renewed focus on organised crime and cyber offences increasing the workload, the AFP's annual report reveals a slight drop in numbers.

The report, released yesterday, suggests a renewed focus on domestic crime, with funding for core crime-fighting areas such as drugs and cyber offences taking more of the agency's budget.

According to the report, the number of sworn police declined from 2855 in 2007-08 to 2842 in 2008-09. The drop represents a broken promise by the Rudd government, which committed to recruiting 500 over five years.

The pledge was criticised by the Coalition as being too heavily weighted to the end of the five-year period with 30 of the extra officers to be recruited in the first two years, 40 in the third and 200 in the fourth and fifth years.

Australian Federal Police Association chief executive Jim Torr said yesterday the drop in numbers was worrying and at odds with the Prime Minister's pre-election promises.

Last night, the Government said the number of Federal Police agents had "remained steady".

"This variation is in keeping with the normal fluctuations in numbers throughout the year," a spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said.

Overall, ASIO's staff numbers increased from 1492 in 2007-08 to 1690 in 2008-09.

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