New police station for remote Western Australia

A new police station in remote Western Australia will provide a permanent police presence in the Blackstone area.

The station will service 520 residents between Jameson and Wingellina in the Central Desert.

The Blackstone Multi-Functional Police Facility was officially opened today by Acting Western Australia Deputy Police Commissioner Mick Burnby and elders from the Blackstone, Jameson and Wingellina communities.

A permanent police presence in this area will help keep families safe and tackle violence, grog-runners and child abuse.

Community safety and policing is key to the Australian Government’s commitment to close the gap.

The Australian Government has provided $20 million for the construction of multi-functional police facilities in the Blackstone, Burringurrah and Looma communities, as well as visiting officer’s accommodation in Bidyadanga.

The Burringurrah and Looma stations will be completed by mid-2010.

The visiting officers’ accommodation at Bidyadanga in the Kimberley has been completed and is currently in use.

Local people have reported feeling safer since the Blackstone station first opened six months ago.

The Blackstone facility provides two full-time police officers and will also house officers from the Western Australia Attorney General’s department and the Department of Child Protection.

The Blackstone station is the third facility to be opened in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, with stations currently operating in Warburton and Warakurna.

These three facilities in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands are providing a more comprehensive and rapid police response to local people in the area.