However, just six arrests were made for breaching public health orders.

Acting Chief Police Officer Peter Crozier told the ACT Assembly Budget Estimates committee on Wednesday that the arrival of the Delta variant was a "gamechanger" for policing in the territory.

The local police taskforce was first established in July 2020 when the first national lockdown was imposed, then bolstered during the latest lockdown period to 110 officers - a large proportion of whom were drawn from crime teams which had previously investigated offences such as fraud and organised crime.

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Assistant Commissioner Crozier admitted some capabilities had been "paused" but this was considered on a "risk basis, with police resources always available to support and protect our community".

It is understood that only a small proportion of the COVID taskforce members were drawn down from the much larger so-called "outcome one" cohort of the Australian Federal Police headquartered in Barton, many of whom were offered the option of working from home.

All community police officers in the ACT are also federal officers but belong to the organisation's so-called "outcome two", which provides a policing service under contract to the ACT government.

The latest annual cost of that service, as reported in the 2020-21 ACT Budget, was $196.5 million.

Assistant Superintendent Crozier described the taskforce as one set up to "provide a centralised and coordinated response for both business continuity and enforcement action".

"Delta has not gone away," Assistant Commissioner Crozier told the committee, acknowledging the work of the ACT Chief Heath Officer and her team in dealing with a major issue "for which there was no blueprint".

"It has been pleasing that for the most part, our ACT community has followed the restrictions, and understood and accepted their compliance requirements after conversations with police," he said.

"This had been an incredible demonstration of our community-minded spirit."

He said police "shifted to a strong enforcement posture only when it was warranted".

The federal police association, which appeared before the Estimates committee last week and are advocates on behalf of the vast majority of federal officers, had previously told how the workforce in the ACT was stretched "very, very thin" during the COVID lockdown period.

Assistant Commissioner Crozier said the focus of recent police response was on COVID-related issues "because that was the pressing need" and "we will need to continue to do that . . . because our sense is that Delta has not gone away and the challenges that exist will continue".

However, he stressed there would be a slow phase back toward "business as usual".

Police repeatedly refused to disclose how many officers were forced to quarantine as a result of coming into contact with COVID-positive offenders although the City Watch House had to be deep cleaned on at least one occasion after two officers arrested a COVID-positive offender in the city.

Assistant Commissioner Crozier said that the past two years of COVID had tested his officers' "resilience, professionalism and dedication in new ways".

Police on the front line - COVID offences during lockdown (to October 25)

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