Illawarra's police stations 'safe'

No police stations will close with the opening of the $17 million Lake Illawarra Police Station later this year, according to NSW Police Minister Michael Daley.Mr Daley made the commitment yesterday while inspecting the new station at Oak Flats.Rumours have been rife that Kiama station would close when the Lake Illawarra command's centre of operation was relocated.The Gerringong station was closed and Kiama's hours were cut back on the basis police were satisfied with response times from the Warilla station. Relocation to Oak Flats would further improve response times.Mr Daley said that while the Berkeley station had been earmarked for sale, satellite stations at Kiama, Albion Park, Port Kembla and Dapto were safe."Kiama Police Station won't be sold. There are no plans to close any of the stations," he said.In making the pledge, he said day-to-day operations of police were not within his brief."Police decide where their resources are best deployed; they're the experts ... They know the business of policing so I'll leave that up to them."Mr Daley also displayed two state-of-the-art trail bikes announced in the 2010-11 NSW police budget for the Lake command."These bikes are purpose-built to negotiate almost any terrain and rapidly respond to emergency situations, making them a premium crime-fighting tool," he said.Lake Illawarra Superintendent Michael Willing said the bikes would also assist in policing unlicensed trail bike riders.