Canberra needs 100 extra cops: opposition

The call for more cops came after recent figures from a Productivity Commission report showed the ACT had the lowest per capita rate of police officers of any state or territory.

Police Minister Mick Gentleman told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday the government was committed to ensuring the resourcing of police met the needs of the community, which had the nation's lowest crime rate.

Opposition police spokeswoman Giulia Jones said 100 extra police were needed just to catch up to NSW, which had the second lowest rate of officers.

She called on the ACT government to restore police funding and increase the number of front-line officers in the upcoming 2019-20 Budget.

"I get regular calls from those on the front line," she said.

"Being a police officer in Canberra today is exhausting and very stressful and a constant barrage of requests for overtime."

She said while every jurisdiction may have a case for different numbers of police officers, the fact the ACT was squarely at the bottom of rankings indicated more officers were needed.

Mrs Jones said the government cut $15 million from police in the 2013-14 budget, saying there were 75 fewer police officers than at the start of the decade, despite population growth.

Mr Gentleman told the Assembly the government was committed to ensuring ACT Policing resources continued to meet the needs of the community.

"The government has on the one hand made sure that ACT Policing is operating as effectively as possible and on the other supported ACT Policing to deliver specialist and priority responses," he said.

He said ACT Policing's annual budget from 2013-2014 to 2016-17 increased about $6 million and noted that the ACT experienced relatively low crime rates compared to other jurisdictions.

The Australian Federal Police Association earlier this year called for the government to fund more officers on the front line.