39655 (2024). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Minister of Police

39655 (2024). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Minister of Police: What number of Armed Offenders Squad call outs, if any, lasted longer than 30 minutes during May 2024, by district? 

Hon Mark Mitchell: I am advised that there were 36 emergency and 108 pre-planned recorded Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) callouts between 1 May 2024 and 31 May 2024, nationally, that lasted longer than 30 minutes. I refer the Member to the attached table, which shows these by incident district and callout type, as at 1 July 2024. Emergency deployments are highly dependent on demand and activity, with staff intervening to prevent harm in an immediate critical situation. On the other hand, pre-planned deployments typically involve activity that relates to searching properties to seize unlawfully held weapons or drugs, or locating wanted persons, and may be the culmination of many months or years of preliminary investigations. Pre-planned deployments also include prevention patrols conducted to provide community reassurance and increase the availability of tactically trained staff to support the frontline following significant firearms related local events or heightened periods of gang tensions. This data is drawn from a dynamic operational database and is subject to change as new information is recorded or updated.