29 June, 2022
More police needed
To combat the concerning rise in some types of crime lately, Member for Condamine Pat Weir believes an integral part of the solution is to have more police at our local police stations.
Mr Weir said all our regional towns and areas have been have been having issues with crime lately.
“Police numbers are part of the solution,” he said.
“The area from Drayton to Clifton does not have 24 hour coverage - Drayton closes in the afternoon.
“If there is a major incident, police need to come out from Toowoomba which can take some time.”
Over the last several years, there has consistently been one officer stationed in Cambooya and six in Drayton.
The Cambooya Division covers Cambooya, Greenmount, East Greenmount, Ramsay, the northern part of Felton and the southern part of Hodgson Vale.
The Drayton Division covers Westbrook, Wyreema, Mount Rascal, Vale View, Finnie, Top Camp, the northern part of Hodgson Vale and parts of Toowoomba.
Mr Weir said he has been asking for Drayton to be operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
He also believes there is an argument that a station located at Westbrook would suit the community’s needs.
“We need better response times, more policing and more hours,” he said.
A Queensland Police Service (QPS) spokesperson said when allocating police resources, QPS takes into account the service delivery requirements of each area, community policing initiatives and the complexity of providing an equitable policing service.
“The priorities of the Darling Downs District police remain focussed on the safety of local communities, their officers, and ensuring the highest levels of service delivery are maintained at all times,” the spokesperson said.
Over five years starting in 2020, the Police Commissioner has allocated 150 of 1,450 additional police officers statewide to be located in the Southern Police Region.
Mr Weir said he was disappointed in the 2022-23 Queensland Budget when it came to policing.
“I am hearing from members of the police force that morale is very low,” he said.
“They are frustrated, disillusioned.
“I want to make it very clear I am not criticising our police officers.
“They just need more support from the government and higher ups.”
In addition to increased staffing, Mr Weir also offered some additional solutions to improve the law and order situation.
He and the rest of the LNP Opposition are strong proponents of reintroducing breach of bail as an offence for juveniles.
He said under the current system, which was introduced by the Palaszczuk Government shortly after coming to power in 2015, offenders are not being held to account.
As evidence of the broken system, he said elsewhere in the Division of Condamine, a teenager from Kingsthorpe was released on bail despite having 28 prior charges against him.
Mr Weir said officers in Oakey and Goombungee, divisions that have higher crime rates than in the towns of Cambooya and Drayton divisions, are under enormous pressure.
He mentioned the ‘tragic’ case in Oakey recently, when four boys aged 13 to 14 rolled a stolen car, which killed one of them and left another in a critical condition.
“They were a danger not just to themselves but to the community. It was lucky the car did not roll into another lane and hit another vehicle.”
Mr Weir said local police are facing a ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ when it comes to dealing with the amount of paperwork associated with domestic violence cases.
“Unfortunately domestic violence is something that continues to increase,” he said.
“The amount of time taken from officers for one case can be twelve hours.
“If charges are laid, they can be withdrawn the next morning. We need another approach.
Minister for Police and Corrective Services Mark Ryan said a 24 hour policing presence is provided by the Darling Downs Police District to the Cambooya and Drayton divisions.
“In addition, specialist District, Regional and Central police services such as the Criminal Investigation Branch, Child Protection Investigation Unit, Tactical Crime Squad, Intelligence, Road Policing and Scenes of Crime provide specialist support to the Division as required,” he said.
Interestingly, the number of calls for service in the Cambooya and Drayton divisions was lower in 2021 than in previous years.
The Cambooya Division had 546 calls for service in 2021, down from 647 in 2020 and 695 in 2019, meanwhile the Drayton Division had 3,023 in 2021, 3,542 in 2020 and 3,268 in 2019.
