CAMPBELLTOWN either stands to lose a whole bunch of police officers or gain a few extra — depending which side of politics you believe.
The Opposition last week accused the O'Farrell government of slashing 30 permanent police officers from the Campbelltown command under statewide cost-cutting measures.
Opposition spokesman on police Nathan Rees said: "The government promised more police but instead all we are seeing are incredibly sneaky budget cuts that slash police numbers."
Macquarie Fields Labor MP Andrew McDonald said there were no excuses.
"Ask anybody in our community and they will tell you we need more police, not less," Dr McDonald said.
However, Police Minister Mike Gallacher said the drop in the number of Campbelltown police officers from 180 in May this year to 150 in June reflected the creation of the police transport and the traffic and highway patrol commands.
He said the officers had already been part of the commuter crime unit and there had been no net loss of police officers on the beat.
The government announced earlier this month it had boosted the number of police officers in the state by 60, with four for Camden and Campbelltown.