Small numbers of Southern police staff have been stood down as vaccine mandates began for police yesterday.
A police spokeswoman said a "small number" of staff had been stood down in the Southern district yesterday as a result of the vaccine mandate for police staff, which came into effect yesterday.
A national vaccine mandate for constabulary, authorised officers and recruits meant police staff were required to have their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by yesterday.
The spokeswoman said 98.38% of the 10,510 staff had complied with the mandate.
She said police would consult those staff members who had not been vaccinated over the next three weeks to consider redeployment options, leave-without-pay options or any application for a medical exemption.
"The action to stand down a small number of staff will not stop police delivering our essential services," she said.
"As an organisation, we support vaccination because it aligns with our goal that our people and communities are safe and feel safe."
In November last year, there were 900 unvaccinated police staff. Nearly 200 remained unvaccinated yesterday.
Police did not provide a figure for the Southern region.
