Calls to pull cops off border as hundreds go down with Covid, in iso or over vaccine mandate

Calls are being made to take police officers off the Queensland border, with confirmation hundreds are unable to work because they have Covid-19, are in isolation or are suspended for not getting the vaccination. HAVE YOUR SAY IN OUR POLL

Hundreds of police officers are infected with Covid-19, in isolation or suspended for not being vaccinated.

And hundreds more are manning border checkpoints, despite the state being open and thousands of positive Covid-19 cases in Queensland each day.

The spread of the virus into Queensland has sparked calls for cops to be taken off the border and put back into their normal operational duties.

Queensland Police Service Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski revealed this morning that 89 staff members, including 68 police officers, were currently infected with the virus.

A further 180 were in isolation.

Police checkpoint in Griffith Street, Coolangatta. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

But Mr Gollschewski stressed police were coping, despite the number of officers unable to work.

“Look, our business continuity plans are very good,” he said.

“We are not seeing any pressures in particular anywhere.

“We’re coping with it at the moment but we’re increasing internal vigilance and putting additional requirements on our workplaces to make sure that we can keep our businesses going.”

Figures provided by the QPS revealed that as of December 24, 100 police officers and 71 staff members had been suspended due to vaccine-related matters.

A total of 223 staff members had been granted exemptions from getting the Covid jab, including 145 police officers.

“The QPS is unable to provide specific numbers for members who have resigned due to the vaccine mandate,” a statement said.

“However, current figures indicate there has been no significant change in the recent attrition rate. The QPS is confident it has the necessary staffing to cover any workplace issues that may arise.”

Bond University professor and former detective Terry Goldsworthy said police needed to be moved off the border and back into frontline work.

“It‘s time our police went back to policing,” he told The Courier-Mail.

“There is no logical rationale for our police to be doing the border closures anymore, in terms of interstate borders.

“Covid is well and truly into Queensland. It just doesn‘t make any logical sense.

“You have hundreds of police deployed to the borders to stop one or two cases coming in when we‘ve got 5000-plus cases already in Queensland per day. It just defies logic.

“Crime is going back up, the Covid (crime) decrease we saw with the initial lockdowns has now well and truly gone so we need our police to go back and start doing some police work.

“It‘s time to open the borders and get back to business as usual.”