Frontline police in South Australia will oppose proposed shoot-to-kill terror laws, unless immunity is included to protect officers from recrimination.
SA Police are currently restricted from using lethal force against a person unless there is an immediate threat to life.
The Opposition said in August they would install shoot-to-kill powers in the event of a terrorist threat if they won Government in March's state election.
But Police Association president Mark Caroll said they would not support any such laws unless there was "full criminal and civil immunity" for police.
"We do not want our members subject to legal recriminations later on after the event," he said.
"We want to make sure there is a clear and unequivocal pathway mapped out for the proposed shoot-to-kill legislation to protect our members."
The Government said it was working to strengthen shoot-to-kill laws and would make an announcement in coming weeks.
Police Minister Chris Picton accused the Opposition of announcing policy on the run and said it did not do "proper consultation" with the police.
But Opposition police spokesperson Stephan Knoll said "fine grain legislative detail" still needed to consulted and worked upon.
He said police should not have to look over their shoulder while they were doing their job.
"We want to openly consult about how that's done to make sure that we get the right laws that the community expects the police to have," Mr Knoll said.
Major parties make election pitches at union conference
The Police Association today met for its annual delegate conference, which was attended by Premier Jay Weatherill and Opposition Leader Steven Marshall.
Mr Weatherill said the Government would ensure police numbers were maintained at the current peak of 4,700 officers if re-elected.
He said they were on track to hire an additional 313 police and that the state's crime rate had dropped by 32.5 per cent over the past decade.
"The reason we achieve those results is because of the dedication, integrity and capacity of our police force, and we want to give them not only the tools and the pieces of equipment to allow them to continue that work, but also the feet on the ground, the police on the beat," Mr Weatherill said.
Mr Marshall supported that number of officers but also pledged to trial light armoured vests for 100 officers, which would protect them from knife attacks.
"If the trial goes well, we'd like to make sure that our police officers in South Australia have access to the very best equipment," he said.
The Police Association said it was waiting for further discussions with Nick Xenophon's SA Best party to determine its law and order policies.
