batons, handcuffs and Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Spray. They have limited police powers and training lasts 12 weeks at the WA Police Academy. Regional Operations Group Created in 2004 the Regional Operations Group provides WAPOL with a specialist public order capability. The unit is split into three sub-units, North, Central, and South. Their main role is attendance at Out of Control Gatherings (O.O.C.G.), to assist police officers requesting backup when none is available locally, or as an immediate response to serious crime. Regional Operations Group officers undergo intensive public-order training and typically carry extra equipment whenever they are on duty. The group is now also issued with AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles for counter-terrorism measures. Perth police complex In 2013 the organisation opened a new inner-city facility at 2 Fitzgerald Street, Northbridge. Accommodating up to 500 police officers, the complex includes the Perth Police Station, the Central Metropolitan District Office, the Northbridge Magistrate's Court and a new state-of-the-art Perth Watch House. Before long, the police union complained that insufficient staff had been assigned to the new lock-up in the context of state government budget constraints. Commissioner of police Traditionally the Commissioner came from within the service though, in 1994 and 1999, police commissioners were head-hunted from outside WA Police ranks. In 1994, Victorian Bob Falconer APM was imported from the Victoria Police where he had been a deputy commissioner. Falconer was effective in implementing the Delta Program designed to achieve organisational and cultural change. Falconer later argued that internal measures were inadequate and that a standing crime and corruption commission was necessary to combat police corruption. In 1999 Barry Matthews, then a deputy commissioner of the New Zealand Police, was appointed and served until 2004. Matthews was, however, succeeded in June 2004 by Karl O'Callaghan APM, PhD who had been employed in the WA service since age 17 and was one of the service's first officers to achieve a PhD. O'Callaghan retired on 14 August 2017 and was succeeded by Chris Dawson. Chris Dawson stepped down as police commissioner in July 2022 to become Governor of Western Australia. He was replaced by Col Blanch on 15 July 2022. Ranks Equipment and weaponry All officers are armed when on duty. The standard firearm is the Glock 22 .40-calibre pistol. Officers also carry the X-26 Taser Electronic Control Device (ECD), often described in the media as a "less-than-lethal-force" option. Prior to the Glock transition