With more rookie cops passing through its classrooms, the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn is getting a major upgrade: $60 million from the state government to modernise its facilities, some of which date back almost half a century.
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The Academy's 80 training facilities include lecture theatres, classrooms, a virtual weapons training facility, a live fire indoor pistol range, a simulation training venue, a scenario village, a library, and indoor and outdoor physical fitness areas. Some 1000 people live and work on the site, which has shops, banks, a chapel, and accommodation to support them.
But some of the infrastructure is demountable buildings from the 1970s that have reached the end of their life and need to be replaced and upgraded, principal Rod Smith said.
The money will be used to refurbish teaching areas, classrooms, accommodation areas, and the pistol range, to make them more user-friendly, Superintendent Smith said.
"It is fantastic for us and for the Goulburn township to upgrade the facilities to continue to provide state-of-the-art training for the NSW police force," Supt Smith said.
The upgrades are necessary because the NSW Government has invested $583 million to recruit 1500 more police over the next four years for community safety. Goulburn's academy is the only institution in the state that trains probationary constables, and more than 800 recruits have attested this year alone.
"The people of New South Wales should be very confident that the funding allocated to this upgrade is money well spent," Supt Smith said. "We will make maximum use of it to make sure that the quality of police that are turned out onto the front line of New South Wales continue to be of the best quality - in fact, one of the best in the world."
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The new buildings are expected to be completed by the end of 2023. The NSWPF Property Group will manage the construction. Supt Smith said he was keen to get work underway; the Academy will work with the Property Group and contractors along the way.
Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman has welcomed the announcement as a significant investment in the area.
"This will not only be a boost for our police force statewide, but will also be a boost for our local economy and provide jobs for the region," Mrs Tuckerman said. "The Police Academy is an important part of our community, and I look forward to seeing it receive the state-of-the-art upgrades it requires."
Supt Smith also expects the construction work to create local jobs, but said that the Property Group will source labour.
"We like to source things locally, because we are a citizen of Goulburn, and we like to support the local community," Supt Smith said. "Ultimately, that will be up to the Police Property Group as to how that is contracted."
This week's announcement follows the opening of an $8 million armed offender training facility at the Police Academy in August.
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The Academy owes its success to the quality of the teaching staff and of its resources, and its partnership with Charles Sturt University, Supt Smith believes.
"We've got highly qualified and competent police officers and CSU teachers here," Supt. Smith said. "Most of them are ex-police officers who teach a very well refined program that is focused on turning people into professional officers in a short period of time."
The academy's resources, Supt Smith continued, expose students to the realities of policing in as realistic scenarios as possible. "This [funding] addition will enhance our program here, and turn these people into professional frontline cops," Supt Smith said.
This year, due to COVID, the Academy has been forced to deliver some of its program online. "Some of that has been beneficial, and we've gained some advantages from that that we will continue," Supt. Smith said. "We are looking at new and modern ways of using technology to help us deliver that program."
The NSW Police Force is Australia's largest, serving 7 million people from more than 500 police stations to ethnic communities who speak more than 30 languages.
"The curriculum is always evolving to make sure that it's contemporary; that it aligns with current legislation and policy; and that we are teaching students the right aspects of policing that align with current community expectations and needs," Supt Smith said.