Steven Miles announces new officers, equipment for Mackay, Bowen, Moranbah
New officers and equipment are coming to Mackay and the Greater Whitsundays in an effort to cut down crime rates. See who’s coming.
Mackay
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With crime and law enforcement as key issues for the October state election, new officers and equipment has been committed to the Greater Whitsundays.
Standing side-by-side with Queensland Police Acting Commissioner Steve Gollschewski and Acting Superintendent for the Mackay Whitsunday District Emma Novosel,
Premier Steven Miles said that 20 new officers and 28 new vehicles would be deployed in towns across Mackay, Isaac and the Whitsundays over the next 18 months.
“This is all about keeping the community safe,” he said.
“We’ve heard from locals how important safety is to them, that’s why we’re providing these extra police.”
Five of the 20 new police officers will be joining the Mackay Tactical Crime Squad, three will be sent to the Child Protection Investigation Unit and two will be joining the Northern Beaches police station.
Four new officers will be assigned to Bowen, two will be sent over the range to Moranbah, two will be deployed to Proserpine and one will be bolstering the Sarina police force.
Mr Miles also took the opportunity to tout the success of a recent statewide operation, Operation Whiskey Legion, which has so far resulted in over 150 charges being levelled against 70 individuals arrested since April 1.
Following the Premier’s announcement, Acting Commissioner Gollschewski spoke about road safety, highlighting four fatal crashes that occurred across Queensland over the Easter break.
“That is four too many,” Acting Commissioner Gollschewski said.
He also stated that 242 drunk drivers were detected over that time period saying, “that is simply not good enough.”
“Do not get in a vehicle if you’ve been drinking.”
Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert praised the deployment of officers to the region taking a moment to highlight the expertise of Mackay’s senior officers making it the ideal place for police to start their careers.
“Mackay does so well because of the work of our wonderful police officers,” Ms Gilbert said.
Thank you to our police force, you do a wonderful job.”
Both the Premier and the Acting Commissioner took a moment to highlight the over 2,000 applicants to join the police force and 500 recruits currently undergoing training, and ask members of the public to consider policing.
“It’s a great thing to do and you end up in places like Mackay, how good is that?” Acting Commissioner Gollschewski said.
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