Police Commissioner Mick Fuller and Deputy Commissioner of Regional Field Operations Gary Worboys were in Mudgee on Thursday to announce the model.

The Commissioner gave a guarantee that the number of police within the new Orana Mid-Western district would increase under the new model but conceded some administration positions would be cut.

As part of the changes, 34 current LACs will become 26 police districts. The Central West district will comprise of the Lachlan and Canobolas LACs, although Cowra and Canowindra will join Chifley district.

The Cootamundra LAC will be split in two, with the north section joining Hume police district and the southern sector joining Wagga Wagga LAC to become Riverina police district.

 Commissioner Fuller rejected suggestions the remodelling was just about mergers.

“We have been talking about the future of country policing and that’s all about capability. The region enforcement squads, the domestic violence, high-risk offender teams, the capabilities we see in metropolitan Sydney is what we want in country NSW.

“This is an exciting change for country NSW after 20 years of Local Area Commands, which was very much a metropolitan model.”

Deputy Commissioner Worboys said the new model was a reflection of the requests he got while undertaking consultation within police and regional communities.

He said there was a need for an officer at each station who was in charge, overseen by a district commander.

For the new Orana Mid-Western district, new appointed District Commander, Superintendent Peter McKenna, will manage the new region, which also includes Warren and Coonamble.

All existing police stations will be kept and there will be an officer-in-charge. For most there will also be a boost in the number of officers. Some administration positions will be cut.

Commissioner Fuller said exact police numbers for the new district were still being determined but said there would be more police on the ground.

“There will be more police in the district than there was before the re-engineering started,” the Commissioner said.

“That’s a guarantee there will be more police. Yes there will be losses of admin positions and that is unfortunate but under this model we won’t need as many admin positions in the area.

“We will settle numbers in the next couple of weeks so within 14 days you will have a much clearer picture in terms of growth in regional NSW.

The Commissioner said Superintendent McKenna would be able to decide how any new police allocated to the region would be distributed.