Fly-in cop squads to tackle problem crime, car theft and DV

Acting police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski will deploy groups of mobile police across the state to blitz crime hotspots, targeting problem crime, theft and domestic violence.

Fly-in groups of police will be deployed across the state to combat problem issues like vehicle theft and domestic violence, as part of interim Commissioner Steve Gollschewski’s master plan.

The Courier-Mail can reveal the rolling operations with “surges of police” will begin in Logan and Ipswich before expanding to other communities.

Officers from the state’s crime and intelligence command, which includes gangs and traffic, will be part of the police deployments in the operation codenamed Whiskey Legion.

The move follow comments from Mr Gollschewski who has said he wants officers to spend less time on administration work and more hours on the road.

The types of crime most affecting Queenslanders such as vehicle theft, property crime, robbery, assault and domestic violence will in the sights of the officers, along with the worst offenders in the areas.

Mr Gollschewski previously told The Courier-Mail the service was looking at crime sets in different geographical areas to “look at what more can we do in those areas that are really suffering from particular types of crime”.

“And you can’t do a cookie cutter (approach) because you have got to look at the state broadly,” Mr Gollschewski said.

Acting Commissioner Steve Gollschewski. Picture: Liam Kidston

“And there’ll be different areas that have got different problems at a particular time, but I’m really confident we can start to turn the dial on some things.

“So for me in when I was talking about the focus on crime, you’ll see a real focus back to those things that are most likely to harm our community and what more can we do in that space?

“Because let’s face it, if a lot of people in our community see police, see activity, the type of stuff we do through a number of things that will make them feel safer.”

The operation will also include the Bring the Beat initiative in which the public can request the deployment of a mobile police beat in their local area.

Speaking of the new operation, Ms Gollschewski said communities should expect to see a “surge of police in their area” as part of the rolling operation deployments in hot spots in Queensland.

“We will continue tackling crime from all angles to ensure the community is safe and feels safe,” he said.

“Our local frontline police will be supported by specialist units and extra resources to target our high-risk offenders across various crime categories while also putting in place preventive strategies.”

Premier Steven Miles said community safety was heightened when people saw police on the beat.

“Operation Whiskey Legion will supercharge high visibility policing work in communities across the state, which we know is paying dividends,” he said.

Police Minister Mark Ryan said the operation would substantially boost police presence while officers went after high-risk offenders and ramped-up patrols.

The operation will is separate to other statewide operations Whiskey Unison and Taskforce Guardian.

More than 11,300 people have been arrested on more than 18,200 charges since March 2023 as part of Whiskey Unison.

Police said statewide efforts had also included more than 165,000 crime hotspot patrols, shopping centre walk-throughs, bail compliance checks and community engagements.

Originally published as Fly-in cop squads to tackle problem crime, car theft and DV