Prisoner transport ‘core responsibility’ of QPS Aviation Capability Group
The ferrying of prisoners aboard a luxury fleet of planes will be a core responsibility of police-operated Beechcraft turbo props when new aircraft enter service in Cairns and across the state next year, it’s been revealed.
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It has been revealed the ferrying of prisoners aboard a luxury fleet of planes will be the core responsibility of police-operated Beechcraft turbo props when new aircraft enter service in Cairns and across the state next year.
In October 2022, Police Minister Mark Ryan announced $157m would be spent on five Beechcraft King Air 360 turboprops to be based in Cairns, Mount Isa and Brisbane, and two Gulfstream G280 jets to be based in Brisbane.
The Cairns-based planes will be used for urgent organ transplant delivery, rescues, disaster relief and special police operations, but their principal task will be transporting prisoners from remote locations to court appearances, jails and youth detention centres throughout North Queensland.
“The transport of prisoners is a core responsibility of the QPS Aviation Capability Group,” a police spokeswoman said.
“Whilst the movement of large numbers of prisoners in a short amount of time presents operational challenges, prisoner transports are a routine task.”
However, suggestions of police-operated aircraft being used to ferry remote family members to visit inmates in youth detention have been ruled out by the Queensland Police Service.
The Aviation Capability Group is responsible for providing aviation services for multiple government departments across Queensland including Queensland Police Service, Queensland Ambulance Service, Queensland Corrective Services, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Queensland Health and other agencies.
Prisoner transposers occurring “several times a week” was a mainstay of the service, however the government said no specific data was available on the cost of flying inmates throughout Queensland.
“The Aviation Capability Group is funded by the Queensland Government through the annual budget process. The budget does not isolate costs against a category of ‘prisoner transport,” a government spokeswoman said.
The King Air 360 model is spruiked as taking cues from luxury SUVs according to Beechcraft promotional material and will feature mission-based customisation that includes extra weight limits, cargo doors, gravel protection kits and extended range.
According to the government, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her ministers will be able to use any of the seven new aircraft although that was not their primary purpose.
State Opposition finance spokeswoman Fiona Simpson demanded an answer as to why taxpayers were footing the bill of a multimillion dollar aircraft splurge.
“In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis when Queenslanders are struggling to pay their bills, Labor should explain why its priority is buying luxury jets for itself,” she said.
Its not known the cost of each turbo prop but at last year’s announcement Acting Police Minister Mark Furner said a “King Air could go to somewhere around a couple of million dollars.”
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Originally published as Prisoner transport ‘core responsibility’ of QPS Aviation Capability Group
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