Fewer Gold Coast cops on the beat as Opposition reveals officer numbers to fight crime wave
THE Gold Coast is in the grip of a crime wave and there’s been fiery clashes in State Parliament today after revelations the city has less officers on the beat than a year ago.
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THE Gold Coast has 40 fewer police than 12 months ago despite a crime wave, State Parliament has been told.
Coomera LNP MP Michael Crandon released the statistics today which were later rejected by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk sparking a heated debate.
In what is most likely the last Question Time before Parliament rises for an election campaign, Opposition frontbenchers peppered the Government on its crime record and recruitment of police.
Mr Crandon, in a question directed to the Premier, said the Coast district had 846 police officers compared to 886 a year ago.
He asked why the Government was “shifting cops out of the Gold Coast” when crime rates had exploded.
Referring to the latest Coast statistics, Mr Crandon said the rates of assaults had increased by 28 per cent and robberies were up by 20 per cent.
“Premier, why doesn’t the Government see the safety of my community in the Coomera electorate as a priority,” Mr Crandon said.
Premier Palaszczuk defended the “hard work” of police to protect residents and attacked the Opposition for not releasing the crime statistics during the previous Newman Government.
“The crime statistics are a public document because my government releases them unlike those when they were in Government. There were no reports because they shut it down,” she said.
“I’m advised there are more police on the Gold Coast than there have been in the past.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the Coast district from June 30 had 1100 police which included 846 full-time officers along with those attached to specialist agencies like Taskforce Maxima and forensics.
“So you’re cherry picking statistics, you’re not adding them together. It’s about time you got your facts correct,” she said.
The Gold Coast Bulletin earlier this month, having run the Thin Grim Line series focusing on policing, revealed the Coast will only get five new young police recruits before Christmas.
The 2016-17 annual statistical review released by the Queensland Police Service confirmed massive increases in violent offences and fall-off in drug arrests and good order offences which require saturated on the beat policing.
The Southeastern Region which includes Logan and the Gold Coast has recorded an 85 per cent increase in “other homicide” offences.
Key signs of the drug culture included a 41 per cent increase in unarmed robbery and staggering 80 per cent boost in unlawful entry relating to shops.
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