Gold Coast Police short staffed after officers call in sick

Gold Coast police officers were moved around the city after suddenly becoming short staffed earlier this week. Find out what happened.

Gold Coast police officers have taken sick leave in huge numbers with managers forced to scramble and move officers around to fill shifts.

Sources told the Bulletin that on Monday night 36 officers called in sick on the Gold Coast.

This forced managers to divert officers specifically to Southport and Surfers Paradise to ensure cars were filled in key areas.

A QPS spokeswoman said more than 180 were rostered to work on the Gold Coast between 2pm on Monday and 6am on Tuesday.

The spokeswoman said officers also may have worked overtime to meet demand.

“The true reflection of staffing resources cannot be assessed by the number of general duties staff alone,” she said.

“Stations are supported by a number of operational district resources including officers within the Rapid Action and Patrol and Highway Patrol groups.”

She said stations were also supported by numerous specialists units including dog squad, water police and the drug squad.

“While staffing figures will fluctuate from time to time, the QPS has sufficient staff and resources to deliver professional policing services to all Gold Coast residents and visitors,” she said.

“The QPS, similar to any organisation, experiences movement and changes in employees as people are impacted by sickness and injury or successfully seek transfers or promotions.”

She said the Gold Coast had the flexibility to move resources around as demand dictated.

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Originally published as Gold Coast Police short staffed after officers call in sick