Our Government is committed to enhancing community safety and policing across Western Australia. We're implementing a comprehensive suite of initiatives to protect our community and support our police officers and the work they do.
In Rockingham, we’re strengthening local policing by increasing recruit courses to get more officers on the ground and boosting funding to extend administrative hours. The station remains open and operational 24/7.
Backing our police. We're proud to have delivered the biggest police recruitment intake in WA Police Force history, with 783 new officers joining the frontline last year. We’ve invested $15.8 million in a new Pilatus PC-24 police jet, cutting response times to regional and remote communities. We’re also upgrading 550 police vehicles and 129 regional stations with high-speed internet to improve emergency communications and response capacity.
Tackling youth crime. Community safety means ensuring young people are held accountable. That’s why we introduced a $14.5 million Juvenile Justice Package to fast-track legal proceedings for repeat young offenders. We’re making sure trials happen within 28 days, expanding electronic monitoring for those on bail, and ensuring that courts can immediately review bail decisions to better protect the community.
Supporting victims of family and domestic violence. We’ve invested more than $564 million since 2017 to support victim-survivors and prevent family and domestic violence. In our latest State Budget, we committed an additional $96.4 million to expand frontline services, boost crisis accommodation, and establish a new One Stop Hub in Perth to deliver wraparound support to those in need.
Putting crime proceeds back into the community. Through our Criminal Property Confiscation Grants Program, we’re redirecting up to $4 million from criminals back into the community. This funding is helping local governments and not-for-profit organisations deliver grassroots crime prevention and safety projects. We’ve also awarded nearly $300,000 in Streets Alive grants to 61 community groups to promote safer roads and neighbourhoods.
Introducing the toughest knife laws in the nation. To address the growing threat of knife-related violence, we’re introducing the strongest knife laws in the country. Police will have the power to conduct ‘anywhere, anytime’ searches in designated Knife Wanding Areas—ensuring we keep our streets and public spaces safe.
Reforming our firearm laws to prioritise public safety above all else. Our firearms reforms put public safety first. Overhauling WA’s outdated, 50-year-old gun laws was a significant undertaking—and delivering these changes marks an historic moment for our state. As part of our landmark reforms, around 52,000 firearms have already been surrendered to WA Police through the first two stages of our multimillion-dollar voluntary buyback program. We’re proud that WA is now the only jurisdiction in Australia to limit the number of guns an individual can own and to require regular health checks for firearm licence holders. These changes are about keeping our communities safe, reducing gun-related harm, and ensuring our laws reflect modern public expectations.
These initiatives reflect our unwavering focus on practical, community-led safety solutions. Our Government will continue to invest in the people, tools and policies that help make Western Australia a safer place to live, work and raise a family.
