Hawkesbury Police Area Command

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The Hawkesbury Local Area Command (HLAC) is located in the North Western Metropolitan Region and in the Hawkesbury City local government area (HLGA). The command borders the Local Area Commands of Penrith, Quakers Hill, The Hills, Brisbane Waters, Chifley, Mudgee, Hunter Valley and Lower Hunter. There are an estimated 49 townships in the HLAC that are spread over large areas.

The Hawkesbury area is a historical Macquarie township, with many tourist facilities. It is a reasonably short drive from any point in the Sydney Metropolitan Area. The population in the Hawkesbury increases during the weekends as the area is used on weekends for motor vehicle and motorcycle enthusiasts, tourist, day trip buses, and other visitors to pass through on their way to other destinations including Singleton or Lithgow. This provides additional users on the road in the area and some delays in and out of the area. This effects the response times to certain parts of the command during these peak periods.

The HLGA has an estimated population of 61, 888 as at June 1996 with 39% of the population living in the townships of Richmond and Windsor and a further 55% living in smaller townships that are located within a 15-kilometre radius of the two major centres. Whilst the population seems to be concentrated within the major centres, no one township contains greater than 12% of the population of the area. HLGA has the second highest rate of car ownership in Western Sydney. Three-quarters of people travel to work by car and the majority of these people work outside the Hawkesbury area.

Public transportation is a major problem within the command due to a poor infrastructure, with one electrified single rail track connecting Richmond to the metropolitan rail service. There are 876 kilometres of sealed roads and 312 kilometres of unsealed roads within the HLGA. The Hawkesbury City Council operates four ferry crossings locations in conjunction with Baulkham Hills Council and the Roads & Traffic Authority.

National Parks and other green areas make up approximately 70% (2, 000 square kilometres of the HLAC. National Parks include Parr State Forest, Wollombi National Park, and Blue Mountains National Park. The native bushland in the Hawkesbury is a popular attraction for tourism with bushwalking and four-wheel drive activities occurring throughout the year. The entire area is maze of unnamed dirt tracks for both bushwalking and four wheel driving.

The HLGA is subjected to major natural disasters that include severe floods and bush fires, which require a coordinated response from the Hawkesbury State Emergency Service and appropriate services. Resources are often needed to assist and coordinate flood evacuations; searches for overdue bush walkers; and other emergency situations. As the Hawkesbury area suffers from major flooding, a severe flood will divide the HLAC into two parts. The drain on Police resources during these times for emergency management and liaison is considerable.

The Hawkesbury River is the largest river in the Sydney Basin and passes through the HLGA at Wiseman’s Ferry, Windsor and North Richmond. It is one of 5 large rivers that segment the Hawkesbury LAC. The Hawkesbury River is a popular attraction for tourist with water skiing, swimming and other recreational activities. It attracts major events to the area, which include the Annual Bridge to Bridge water ski and numerous other boat and watercraft races. The Hawkesbury River is on the edge of the Sydney Metropolitan Area and major population centres of Penrith, Blacktown and Parramatta.

The attraction of a large number of people during the summer months engaging in recreational activities attract incidents of stealing, anti-social behaviour, assaults, and malicious damage to property. Boating accidents resulting in the serious injury or death of persons have occurred.

The volume of river users during the summer months and the subsequent accidents and incidents requires Police to utilise the Waterways Authority and the Police Launch in high profile patrolling and attendance to incidents. General Duties Police may also be called to incidents of a similar nature. Other resources such as Police divers may also be required to assist in the recovery of vessels, motor vehicles or victims of drowning.

There are 17 Caravan and Tourist Parks located along the Hawkesbury River. The Caravan Parks in the Hawkesbury provide approximately 1, 100 sites and cater mostly for water skiing and other water sport and recreation activities. The caravan parks are also utilised by the Department of Housing for crisis accommodation. This attracts other low income and transient population to these accommodation sites. Approximately 1. 7% (940 persons) of the Hawkesbury population reside permanently in caravan parks in the Hawkesbury.