SA Police horses saddle up at $90 million new home
The SA Police Mounted Operations Unit has moved into its new base at Gepps Cross after relocating from the state heritage-listed Thebarton Barracks, which will be razed for a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Police said that the unit’s 32 horses were now officially based at the purpose-built complex, which will also house the Dog Operations Unit early next year.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the “highly trained police horses assist in crime reduction, deterrence and are a key part of our policing response to protest activity”.
“The large undercover arena will give our Mounted Operations Unit the space to train for these incidents year-round,” he said.
“The 32 ventilated stables can house the entire mounted cadre, while the onsite paddocks mean the horses can be moved depending on their needs.”
The Mounted Operations Unit and a host of other police units housed at the historic Thebarton Barracks were forced to find new homes after the Malinauskas Government announced in September 2022 that the site’s 10 buildings would be demolished for a new hospital forecast to open in 2030-31.
A bid to build a new police horses base on park lands near Greenhill Road sparked community opposition and the state government backed down, briefly considering land near the airport before deciding on the current Gepps Cross site near the State Sports Park.
Commissioner Stevens in August 2023 expressed his frustration with the process and said the site was “not optimal” but could be made to work, while the police union said the decision to move the mounted unit nine kilometres from the CBD was cynical and politically-motivated.
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Opposition police spokesman Jack Batty said today that “there are many officers from the Mounted Operations Unit who aren’t happy about moving to Gepps Cross which is a logistical nightmare for the horses”.
“It could be that Peter Malinauskas’ decision to send SAPOL to Gepps Cross could see result in even more police officers reconsidering their future in the force, which is a disaster,” he said.
“Given the crime crisis in South Australia right now, we cannot afford to lose a single officer.”
In May this year, senior police told a parliamentary committee that the estimated cost of moving units out from Thebarton Barracks had hit $153 million while the relocation budget was $138 million, with police negotiating with Treasury to cover the $15 million shortfall.
The Adelaide Road Safety Centre is moving next week into a new home at 1 Military Road in the West Beach Parks precinct.
