Youth crime focused police flying squad to triple

The strength of a specialist fly-in police squad - which has been at the centre of youth-crime focused - will be more than tripled through a $32m state government funding injection.

The strength of a specialist fly-in police squad will be more than tripled through a $32m state government funding injection.

The Queensland Police flying squad — which has been at the centre of youth-crime focused Taskforce Guardian — currently has 17 officers.

The state government will increase this by 41 officers for a total of 58, through a $32m investment across five years.

“Our new State Flying Squad will be able to deploy at a moment’s notice into any corner of Queensland, providing on-the-ground support to police on the frontline who need it most,” Police Minister Dan Purdie said.

“Youth offenders and high-risk criminals will be a major focus for the new Squad, which will be able to utilise the Making Queensland Safer Laws and restore safety where you live.”

Premier David Crisafulli said the squad would “strike at the heart of crime and restore community safety across the state” with the state government “throwing the kitchen sink” at crime.

Taskforce Guardian has run more than a hundred deployments since being set up in 2023.

As of October, Taskforce Guardian had charged 2093 juveniles with 6167 offences while 980 youth were diverted from the youth justice system according to Queensland Police statistics

The taskforce also charged 252 adults with 565 offences during its operations.