Townsville police grapple with rising DV cases and siege incidents: An inside look on a Saturday night ride along
During a night on the beat in Townsville, we joined Senior Sergeant Darren Randall for a ride-along that shined a spotlight on a city under siege — literally and figuratively.
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Townsville residents may be settling down to sleep on a Saturday night, but for District Duty Officer Senior Sergeant Darren Randall, the night is just getting started.
The Townsville Bulletin joined him for a tumultuous ride-along that kicked off at 11pm with a siege in the streets of Kelso.
Sgt Randall said his team spent several intense hours negotiating with a man believed to have access to weapons.
The man had barricaded himself inside a house and was wanted for questioning.
The 35-year-old was eventually taken into custody and was charged with serious assault of a police officer, obstructing police and conduct causing a public nuisance.
It was the second siege to happen within 24 hours following a lengthy standoff in Gulliver that saw a woman taken to hospital under an emergency examination authority just hours earlier.
“It’s becoming more prevalent,” Sgt Randall said.
“Our calls for service in relation to mental health-related incidents and domestic violence-related incidents are unfortunately increasing, but you know what, that’s what we’re geared up to respond to, and that’s exactly what we’re doing now.”
Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson said sieges of this nature often tie up significant police resources.
“A lot of them are negotiated peacefully, very quickly, it’s only very rarely we see them drawn out for hours and hours, and even a day or two,” he said.
“Everyone’s safety is paramount, and the person inside there needs to be kept as safe as possible.
“We have to use our negotiators to allow people to consider their options and work out the best option is to come out and get whatever they’re facing sorted out.”
In Townsville, police are investigating at least 40 DV-related offences every day, and it remains one of their most common calls for service.
Scrolling through the log of police jobs on his iPad at 11.30pm, Sgt Randall noted their crews were already at six DV call-outs and would likely receive dozens more as the night went on.
A call comes through the radio that police are searching for a male suspect who allegedly assaulted a resident in the nearby suburb of Condon.
Two officers were in the middle of handcuffing a shirtless man on North Beck Dr as the DDO pulled up at the scene in his car just before midnight.
Sgt Randall said police believed the man had been armed with a “sharpened fence palling,” which they had been recovered after he allegedly discarded it during the foot chase.
He said the alleged victim had chosen not to file an official complaint and police would not be charging him.
However, he said it appeared the man had an outstanding warrant and would be taken to the watch house after being medically cleared.
Visibly agitated, the man yelled at police as they loaded him into the back of their vehicle.
“I don’t break into people’s houses, and I don’t steal cars and everything — I drink,” he said.
There were two active stolen vehicles on the police hotlist at 1am on Sunday, but Sgt Randall said this was normally a time more would begin to pop up.
A stolen silver 2014 Holden Captiva Wagon — stolen during a burglary at Douglas on Saturday — was found on fire at Hermit Park about 3am.
Sgt Randall said youths in stolen cars would often frequent the area around Stocklands Shopping Centre and even the road outside Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, trying to “show off to their mates.”
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Originally published as Townsville police grapple with rising DV cases and siege incidents: An inside look on a Saturday night ride along
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