Slater and Gordon lawyer Erin Sellars argues solo policing is in breach of NSW Work Health and Safety Regulations and said it was time NSW discussed following the lead of Western Australia and Victoria.

"It is widely accepted that the work of a police officer is inherently dangerous and frequently unpredictable, yet every day across NSW many police officers conduct their work alone, without a partner, without nearby backup and with no assistance," Ms Sellars told the Mercury.

In 2008, the West Australian police force abolished solo policing and created guidelines which state that police officers are not to be rostered, directed or encouraged to patrol alone.

In NSW, however, solo policing continues.

"If a state as vast as Western Australia can abolish solo policing, isn't it time we discussed doing the same in NSW?" Ms Sellars said.

The term solo policing covers both being deployed to incidents alone and working on investigations alone.

"Police working solo have been the subject of two documented and tragic murders of police officers in 2002 and 2012 in NSW," Ms Sellars said.

"There have also been numerous police officers left with significant injuries as a result of this practice.

"In my opinion, performing solo duties whether frontline or non-frontline poses a threat to the health and safety of police officers," she said.

"Specifically, solo policing is arguably in breach of Regulation 48 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (NSW)."

Ms Sellars has represented a number of police officers who have been involved in solo policing in both their frontline and non-frontline duties and has heard how the practice has a physical and psychological impact on the officers, the community and victims of crime.

The Police Association's southern region executive officer Jason Hogan recently told the Mercury a top priority was ending single unit policing and the practice of single officers manning stations.

No stations in the Wollongong area are manned by single officers, but Mr Hogan said stations elsewhere in the Illawarra and South Coast were at times staffed by only one officer.

"There are stations in the Illawarra that work one-out, and we ask the government to urgently address safety in this area," he said.

This month police in Victoria announced an end to single-unit policing, and a ruling that stations must be manned by at least two officers at all times.

"We'd like to see those changes happen today. We are not as progressed as Victoria, but we will be discussing this at further meetings," Mr Hogan said.

A former Illawarra police dog handler has joined the call for solo policing to be abolished, saying the isolation and pressure of working alone caused him fear and anxiety.

‘‘I was part of the single unit general purpose section of the Dog Squad and I was called out to high-risk and dangerous situations, including incidents involving armed offenders wanted on murder charges,’’ said the  former officer with 15years on the job.

‘‘On one occasion, I was called to find an offender who was armed. I was on foot patrol with my dog.

‘‘I was in a secluded vegetated area, pitch black at night. I was worried that I would get ambushed. After searching for a while, my dog spotted the offender.’’ 

The ex-officer asked to see the suspect’s hands and when he received no response, he commanded his dog to bite.

‘‘My adrenalin was working overtime,’’ he said. ‘‘The dog and offender were fighting. I called for backup. I couldn’t arrest the offender as the dog would have been all over him. I had to wait for backup police officers to arrive.’’

The former officer, a client of Slater and Gordon lawyer Erin Sellars, said that in the wash-up he was flooded with ‘‘what ifs’’ and an overwhelming feeling of panic.

‘‘I am lucky I did not get killed or injured,’’ he said.

It’s not just the obvious frontline concerns about working alone.

“Solo policing is tough. There’s no one else to take over driving duties,’’ the ex-officer explained.

‘‘It was a real struggle to get home without falling asleep behind the wheel, no matter how often you stopped and got out of the car to revive, five minutes later I was nodding off again.

‘‘Fatigue is a real issue when there is no one else to help.” 

A former senior constable with 23 years service also recalled an incident where he was sent to a remote country location by his supervisor after reports shots had been fired.

‘‘I was not given full details of this incident and I was sent alone,’’ the former officer said.

‘‘When I arrived, I noticed that a man had killed himself. I contacted the closest police station, where my supervisor was, which was about 50 minutes away but no backup was sent.’’

The officer was alone to investigate, remove the body, speak to the deceased’s family, wife and child, and attend the hospital morgue for the autopsy.

‘‘The fear and anxiety of attending incidents alone is unexplainable,’’ he said. 

It is widely accepted that the work of a police officer is inherently dangerous and frequently unpredictable.

Yet, every day across NSW, many police officers conduct their work alone – without a partner, without nearby back-up and with no assistance.

This practice is called solo policing and Slater and Gordon police compensation lawyer Erin Sellars discusses the risks.

In 2008, the Western Australia Police Force abolished solo policing and created guidelines, which state that police officers are not to be rostered, directed or encouraged to patrol alone.

This month, the Victorian government took steps in a similar direction, limiting the work officers could do alone.

In NSW, however, solo policing continues.

The term covers both the act of being deployed to incidents alone and also the process of working on investigations alone.

Police working solo have been the subject of two documented and tragic murders in 2002 and 2012 in NSW.

There have also been numerous police officers left with significant injuries as a result of this practice.

I have personally represented a number of police officers who have been involved in solo policing in both their frontline and non-frontline duties.

I have heard how solo policing has a physical and psychological impact on police officers and it also has an impact on the community and victims of crime.

Below are a few experiences of police officers I represent.

A former senior constable who served in the NSW Police Force for about 23 years states as follows:

“I have spent most of my career as a police officer working in the country. I can recall an incident where I was called out to a remote location by my supervisor where shots had been fired around 10pm. I was not given full details of this incident and I was sent alone. 

The fear and anxiety of attending incidents alone is unexplainable. The fear of not knowing of what is going to happen when I arrive. When I arrived, I noticed that a man had killed himself. I contacted the closest police station, being where my supervisor was, which was about 50 minutes away, to request assistance, however no back-up was sent to assist me with;

● Investigations;

● Removing the body;

● Speaking to the deceased family (wife and child);

● Attending the hospital morgue and being present for the autopsy.

There have been numerous occasions that I was required to attend incidents alone and complete the work alone following the incident with no assistance. This is physically and psychologically demanding. Knowing how apparently routine matters can quickly turn into violent confrontations I found going to incidents by myself created a level of apprehension and anxiety, especially when I knew back-up was at least 45 minutes away and a dangerous situation could occur within moments.’’

A former detective who served in the NSW Police Force for about 18 years states as follows:

“I am a former detective of the NSW Police Force. I was in charge of a large and complex strike force. I was given adequate resources initially but this dwindled after a few weeks and assistance further reduced to only a few staff who essentially were not able (and/or willing) to dedicate and properly apply themselves to the investigation.

Over time staff were removed and I ultimately became a ‘‘one-man strike force’’. I was isolated to a room and I worked excessive amounts of overtime to meet deadlines. Working alone results in fatigue and exhaustion. I also experienced heart palpitations and anxiety attacks from the amount of stress I was under.

My sleep was badly affected as my racing mind kept me awake as I ruminated over the strike force and I would get up in the night making notes.

Despite requests for assistance, no proper assistance was received. When I did get assistance it would only be for a limited amount of time and the assistance was inexperienced and/or on restricted duties. I became obsessed with the strike force.

 As a result of not receiving assistance, I wanted to work as much as I could to get this case solved and meet all the deadlines. I did not want to let down the victim, the victim’s family and the community. I just wanted to give the best service to the community and the victim I could. I did not want the victim and or the victim’s families to suffer because of the lack of resources provided to me.

It is unfair and consuming to do the investigation on the strike force alone and to obtain the evidence alone. The right amount of resources should be allocated. As a result of the lack of resources, extremely important evidence gathering opportunities were unable to be accomplished.

 This resulted in an investigation that ultimately folded by not being pursued by the DPP and the matter being dispensed with at the Coroner’s Court, when an inquest should have been held to identify the several co-offenders considered equally responsible to the savage crime who are still walking free. Psychologically it traumatised me in that I failed as an investigator to achieve proper justice. 

Working alone made me amongst other emotions: isolated, disregarded, disrespected, frustrated, pleas falling onto deaf ears, a disinterested hierarchy, and no care/interest for my welfare from my obsessiveness that developed as I struggled to hold onto and comprehend the massive amounts of information that I had gathered.

 I feel that there was a blatant breach of OH&S relating to a safe workplace as well as disregard to my welfare despite signs of stress being observed by my peers.

Working alone on a long term protracted investigation without properly trained assistance and without being properly allocated to the right specialists can result in severely impacting on the individual officer. From my experience and with communicating with other detectives, other police officers have also suffered and become psychologically injured as well as having physical health issues”.

This is an account from a former Senior Constable and Dog Handler of the Dog Squad who served with the NSW Police Force for about 15 years:

“I am a former dog handler of a German shepherd of the Dog Squad. Solo policing is tough. 

I was part of the single unit general purpose section of the Dog Squad. I was called out to high-risk and dangerous situations, for example incidents involving armed offenders wanted on murder charges.

On one occasion, I was called to find an offender who was armed. I was on foot patrol with my dog to try and find the offender. I was in a secluded vegetated area, pitch black at night. I was worried that I would get ambushed. After searching for a while, my dog spotted the offender. I jumped out of my skin.

 I could not see his hands. I asked to see his hands and I received no response. I commanded my dog to bite. My adrenalin was working overtime. The dog and offender were then fighting. I called for back-up. I could not arrest the offender as the dog would have been all over him. I had to wait for back-up police officers to arrive. 

Following the event I started to think of ‘‘what ifs’’. I had an overwhelming feeling of panic. I am lucky I did not get killed or injured.

A colleague of mine, who also worked at the Dog Squad, was called to an incident and before he could get his dog out of the police car an offender attacked him. Solo policing is dangerous work.

Solo policing is also tough as there is no one else to take over driving duties. It was a real struggle to get home without falling asleep behind the wheel, no matter how often you stopped and got out the car to revive, five minutes later I was nodding off again. Fatigue is a real issue when there is no one else to help.’’

In my opinion, performing solo duties whether frontline or non-frontline poses a threat to the health and safety of Police Officers. Specifically, solo policing is arguably in breach of Regulation 48 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (NSW).

If a state as vast as Western Australia can abolish solo policing, isn’t it time we discussed doing the same in NSW.