The Liberal/National Coalition's vision for a safe and secure NSW

• consulting victims of crime on plea bargains;
• announcing to the court that plea bargaining is being entered into in any given case; and
• establishing a sentence discount of no more than 10 per cent when plea-bargaining is used.

Protecting Children from Criminals

A Liberal/National Coalition government will introduce compulsory minimum sentences for sex crimes against children - and ensure that victims are protected. (Full details of the Liberal/National Coalition's policy are contained in Section 3 Protecting our Children).

Restoring Local Policing

A Liberal/National Coalition government will address rising crime rates and increasing community concerns on crime and safety by:

• rostering locally based and locally led front-line police to police stations downgraded by Labor across the state;
• restoring designated beat policing rosters for local police;
• undertaking an immediate audit of all desk-bound police to get police back on the front line; and
• allowing local car-theft victims to report car theft to their Local Area Command station rather than ringing the remotely located Police Assistance Line - putting more police on the street.

The 2001 Auditor-General's report states that there were 689 police on sick leave, 448 police on worker's compensation and another 90 police on light duties. This equates to more than 1,000 Police Officers unavailable for active duty.

A Liberal/National Coalition government will put more police on the street by addressing police sick leave. The Liberal/National Coalition will:

• initiate an early intervention program for officers in high-risk situations, which will be designed to prevent, identify and treat psychological injury;
• fast-track applications for medical discharges and appoint more medical officers able to provide medical discharges;
• introduce medical assessment guidelines for the identification and treatment of psychological injury;
• implement a system to identify the causes and types of sick leave taken by police to address the Auditor-General's finding that there is no means to distinguish between normal illnesses and injuries suffered on duty; and
• amend the Workers Compensation Act to exempt emergency-service workers from the threshold of 15 per cent psychological injury to recognise that these officers work in unique circumstances.

Securing NSW Against Terrorism

The Liberal/National Coalition. has adopted a bipartisan, constructive approach to the threat of terrorism.

The NSW Liberal/National Coalition stands shoulder to shoulder with Prime Minister John Howard in facing the threat of terrorism. We supported the NSW government's anti-terrorist legislation. However, a Liberal/National Coalition government will strengthen police powers by extending the period that special powers apply after a terrorist attack to 14 days.

Re-establishing Specialist Police Squads

A Liberal/National Coalition government will restore specialist police squads to fight criminals. The Liberal/National Coalition will establish:

• a new 'Armed Hold-up Squad' to combat the increased incidence of armed robbery;
• a new 'Rural Crime Squad', modelled on the abandoned Stock Squad, which will provide 32 police in total, adding a specialist officer to each non-metropolitan police Local Area Command; and
• a new 'Vandal Squad' to crack down on vandalism and graffiti.

Police In High Schools Trial

The Liberal/National Coalition believes that schools should be a safe place for children to learn and play. Under Labor, gang activity, violence and dealing of illicit drugs have taken hold in and around some of our schools.