Assistant Commissioner Paul Coombes takes on job of policing world’s biggest jurisdiction as regional WA boss

It’s a tough job policing the single largest police jurisdiction in the world. The vast region covers 2.5 million sqkm, 2000 staff, 123 staff and seven districts. But it’s one Assistant Commissioner Paul Coombes is ready to take on, after taking the reins two months ago as the top cop of regional WA. “Whether it’s Karratha, Broome, Nullagine or Marble Bar, those relationships with your local community are so important,” he told The Sunday Times. “A lot of it is around trust, and once the community has trust with police officers, then things develop.” Over his 45-year career, Mr Coombes has worked as a detective in major crime and homicide, before being promoted to Superintendent where he oversaw the Pilbara and Great Southern regions. He was also a key player in Operation Macro — the specialist task force investigating the Claremont serial killings. But from Kalambaru to Albany, the veteran officer admits the vast distance and isolation of regional WA is a “major concern”. “It’s always a great concern for the safety and welfare of two officers who are going to remote locations,” he said. “There are so many unknowns on so many occasions, so we reinforce with the guys, ‘don’t be complacent’ — just because it’s Mount Barker, it doesn’t mean there can’t be a violent offender. “Luckily we live in such a great State in a good country so it doesn’t happen often, but we just need to make sure the officers are trained and resourced.” Mr Coombes said among his top priorities were tackling child sex abuse and the illicit drug trade. In July, a 54-year-old Kununurra man was charged with nine counts of possession of a prohibited drug after officers allegedly seized 51.9g of meth and 6.7kg of cannabis from his car. Just days later, police arrested a 37-year-old Broome woman after allegedly discovering 667g of meth in her car. “Illicit drugs is a major issue for all communities, so we have ongoing operations in partnership with serious and organised crime (officers),” Mr Coombes said. “In the Kimberley . . . we have had some really good illicit drug inquiries and arrests and seizures as of late, so we have that ongoing in all districts. “Child sex abuse is also a very big priority of ours, we’ve had numerous investigations in regional areas and joint partnership operations whether it be with the AFP or with other government agencies.” Mr Coombes said there was constant communication between metro and regional officers to exchange “crime types and crime strategies”. “Crime types are similar throughout the state, but in regional WA there are nuances and differences depending on the area, but our focus as an agency remains consistent,” he said. “There is a tyranny of distance, (but) we need to adapt and provide that support.” Mr Coombes said Operation Regional Shield — an initiative which rapidly deploys officers for short stints in rural WA — meant metro officers often got a crack in the regions. “Every two weeks, officers get deployed from the city to Broome or Kununurra or Geraldton, wherever they’ve got some crime issues and they have a contingency surplus of officers and resources,” he said. “We just evaluate where (officers) are most needed . . . so if we get a homicide in Kununurra, my team will do the initial (investigation) until we can get a team from the Homicide Squad there, and then they’ll take charge and we support them there.” He said he encouraged young cops to do a regional stint early in their policing career. “We don’t send them to two or three-man stations because they need mentoring and guiding,” he said. “The unique experiences of working in the Kimberley or the Great Southern is something that’s really challenging but really rewarding as well. “I recently went to Derby (and met) a young officer there, just 12 months straight out of the academy to Derby ... this officer is just loving it, he loves the lifestyle. “People think Derby is a hard town to live in, but he’s got such great experience and he’s developing as a police officer — he will be a high performer throughout his career the way that it’s going.” Mr Coombes said it was “paramount” for officers to develop trust with regional communities. “A very good friend of mine was the officer in charge of Halls Creek, which is a difficult town, but he had such regard and trust in the community,” he said. “Now, he’s officer in charge of Albany detectives, but (the Halls Creek) community still calls him and talks to him about stuff that’s going on, which is so important.” Mr Coombes said technology was the key to regional policing, adding that WA Police was “leading Australia” with its tech innovation. He said officers had 24/7 access to SILVA — a communication feed connecting online intelligence systems, giving officers instant access to information. “In the middle of the night, if someone was sexually assaulted in Kununurra, (officers) can get started straight away and start doing all the intel work, then we coordinate an get whoever’s required to get there as soon as they can,” he said. “(Officers) have got access to intel and databases on their phone, which is so important these days to improve community relations and make sure that the community have faith in police, and know they can come to us at anytime, whatever the issue is.”