Police will be told to stop using their radios to advise of low-priority incidents such as the roadside stopping of suspicious drivers and vehicles when a new communications system is rolled out early next year.
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It's a move which the police union believes may isolate officers from immediate support and has the potential to compromise safety.
Called the unified operational communications program, the plan will dismantle the long-running and highly effective split channel system and combine it into one for the entire ACT.
Australian Federal Police Association president Angela Smith said that situational awareness was vital to good policing and the current split channel network allowed the police operations centre to maintain regular contact with its officers, some of whom are out patrolling alone.
"We are always supportive of operational changes which bring greater efficiencies and allow police to do their important work more effectively," Ms Smith said. "However, we're concerned that this is just change for change's sake.
"The current two-channel system already gets overloaded at peak times on busy Friday and Saturday nights and officers have to hold off making their radio report until another completes his or her report.
"How could a single radio channel cope when a major incident quickly occurs and multiple reports come in at once? And what happens when an officer alone on mobile patrol makes a routine stop on a speeding car and the situation turns dangerous? Police Operations won't even know the officer has pulled the car over."
A police statement said that detailed analysis had been made of current radio transmission volumes and compared with similar police jurisdictions, which suggests "multiple radio channels are both unnecessary, an impediment to the effective deployment of resources, and importantly a barrier to critical situational awareness."
The union disagrees and Ms Smith, a former serving ACT police officer, said that everyday policing in Canberra was "very different" to that of surrounding NSW regional areas.
"Canberra is a metropolitan policing environment. We often have mobile patrols all attending different types of jobs from five police stations at the same time, as well as foot patrols out in the city area at night. They all need the radio network for situational awareness."
The current radio system has been robustly tested and shown to work well under duress with police operations able to quickly call in support or provide valuable information to inform and assist officers heading into potentially hazardous situations where their safety may be at risk.
The two-channel system splits Canberra geographically between Channel 71 (communicating with Canberra's northside officers) and Channel 72 (Canberra southside). It is a hangover from the previous analogue network and was retained when the switch was made to a digital, encrypted network.
The two main channels can be quickly supplemented by three more, with additional staff for managing special events.
Police Operations at Belconnen has been undergoing refurbishment over the past few months in preparation for the switch to the unified system which is likely to roll out in late January or early February.
In a statement, ACT police acknowledged it would be moving away from "non-urgent, lower priority incidents being dispatched" over its radio network but said it would not be applying a "one-size fits-all approach".
"We appreciate that every incident can be different and therefore we will still have dedicated radio operators and call takers rostered 24/7 in our upgraded communications facility."
"The ability to 'patch' channels together has existed for many years so it's not a new capability.
"Officer and community safety are paramount in any operational decision-making process".
