City Staging

While the main facility for Mounted Operations Unit (MOU) and Dog Operations Unit (DOU) will be at the new Gepps Cross site, MOU need a staging post in the Adelaide CBD to allow them to continue to meet policing needs in and around the city. The State Government announced this staging post would be built on the corner of King William and Wright Street, Adelaide, on an undeveloped block of government-owned land.

This site was selected as it ensures horses are deployed from within 5 kms of the CBD. MOU’s proximity to the CBD is vitally important as the location guarantees our response time will be similar to the current response time from Thebarton Barracks.

The staging post will not be a customer facing site.

Most of MOU’s duties in the CBD are for pre-planned activities and horses will be deployed from the site to respond to policing needs in the CBD. The staging post will not be occupied 24/7, but will be operational around those deployment activities.

While it is likely there will be a police presence at the site most days of the week, it is primarily a safe and secure location to prepare and rest horses when they are on deployment in the city. The staging post can accommodate up to 12 horses, but it is anticipated an average of six horses will be deployed for regular operational duties.

MOU has staff specifically employed to assist with the care of the police greys, and to maintain the cleanliness and upkeep of the site for the health and wellbeing of not only the horses but the staff and our neighbours. They are also responsible for waste management at the site which will be managed in a fully sealed bin specifically designed to reduce odours and to compost all organic material from the site.

In addition, DOU will also use this staging post as required when they are deployed into the city. Accommodation for DOU includes soundproof kennels to minimise any noise pollution in the surrounding area.

While the new site is close to businesses it is expected that noise from the site will be minimal. On rare occasions, if there is limited traffic and other noise, it may be possible to briefly hear the horses as they walk to the site in the early hours of the morning.

The new custom-built staging post will be a modern site for MOU to have excellent access to the CBD for the majority of their operational duties and is ideal to assist deploying DOU in the CBD as required.

Enquiries to: SAPOL.Thebartonrelocation@police.sa.gov.au or 7322 3302 during business hours.

^{-- Images for illustration purpose only. Click to enlarge images.}