WA Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan has announced changes to the state’s heavily criticised policing model, conceding it had not worked as well as he had hoped.

Mr O’Callaghan confirmed he would roll out changes to his Frontline 2020 model from Monday, following an unprecedented crime wave in WA and reports of officer “fatigue”.

The changes will see hundreds of uniformed police officers respond urgently to four crime types that have driven up crime statistics — family violence, burglaries, stolen vehicles and thefts.

He also promised to deliver on an increase to response teams of 80 extra officers “very shortly”.

And the commissioner conceded that under the current model, local police teams weren’t issuing a “co-ordinated response” between districts.

WA’s top cop has been under increasing pressure over his police tactics after The Sunday Times revealed there were 600 crimes committed every day in WA.

Camera Icon How The Sunday Times reported the WA crime wave in January. Credit: The Sunday Times

Up from 540 crimes a day the previous year and 534 crimes a day in 2013, and equates to about one offence every two minutes and 20 seconds somewhere in the state.

Mr O’Callaghan told Radio 6PR on Thursday morning that WA “weren’t getting bang for their buck” when it came to local policing teams.

“I think decisions being made at a local level, didn’t serve us as well as they could,” he said.

He conceded crime needed to be “attacked” in a much “stronger way”.

“There were elements of it (the 2020 model) that didn’t work,” he said.

“This 2020 model has given us enormous flexibility to move people from one area from another.

“Policing is about being able to respond to things as the environment changes.

“The major change which has occurred here is that there will be a co-ordination centre which will develop a much greater sense of urgency around those volume crime types (family violence, burglaries, stolen vehicles and thefts).”

Camera Icon Under the pump: Police commissioner Karl O'Callaghan announces a new direction in policing to combat rising crime. Credit: News Corp Australia

He said one of the biggest “issues” that “needed work” was follow up work following a crime — in locating and prosecuting an offender.

“The issue for us is what we do around priority prolific offenders, people who are on bail and breaching bail curfews,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“They’re the ones that are committing the robberies here, and the break-ins.

“So if you don’t get a person who breaches their bail curfew within a day and it takes you a week to get them — they could commit 50, 60, 100 burglaries

“And that’s the type of thing which could be driving up crime rates in Perth.”

Mr O’Callaghan suggested changes to the Bail Act were required to ensure they could keep more criminals off the street.

He called for tougher penalties.

At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Police Minister Liza Harvey said a review into the Bail Act was already underway.

“I’m fully aware of the frustrations that police officers have,” she said.

“If the court has seen fit to set someone bail and then that alleged offender breaches the conditions of that bail, the consequences at the moment don’t appear to fit with community expectation.”

She did say it would take some time to get legislation through with a “full” legislative agenda for Parliament already this year.

“I’m not envisaging that there are likely to be any changes in the near future,” she said.

“But, what we need to do is be very thorough with what changes we might like to impose.”

She said one consideration in changing the legislation would be the requirement for a custodial facility.

“These are not decisions the government will make on the hop,” Ms Harvey said.

Under the Frontline 2020 system, officers are divided into response teams — attending urgent police business at peak times like Friday and Saturday nights — or local police teams, who deal with community crime issues and non-urgent business.

Since its induction in December 2014 it has copped plenty of criticism from officers, the union and the opposition.

Officers have frequently vented their frustration at the model for the excessive workload it placed on police.

Just last month, officers spoke out on the police union’s Facebook page.

Fatiguing rosters, rising sick leave rates and officers “playing around on Twitter” were issues identified. One post described Frontline 2020 as “an unmitigated disaster — from someone who is on the frontline”.

In June 2015, Mr O’Callaghan was forced to admit that despite his new “tougher on crime’’ model, crime rates had significantly increased on the previous year.

WA’s top cop said he had been “out and about” talking to police and they had raised concerns over “fatigue” and a “greater demand for officer attendance”.

He told Today Perth on Thursday morning that he was backing the new changes and was certain it would work.

“I am confident we will see results,” he said.

“We will re-evaluate in June where we are in terms of crime statistics.”

Opposition police spokeswoman Michelle Roberts, who has blamed the new model for a marked increase in crime, welcomed the changes and issued a clear warning to the commissioner.

“If Labor won the election we would start a process immediately to selecting the next commissioner of police to have a smooth handover,” Ms Roberts told reporters on Thursday.