Leading criminologist calls for a dedicated Drug Squad on the Coast

A LEADING local criminologist says the key thing the Gold Coast is missing when it comes to the future of policing is a dedicated drug squad. Here’s why.

A leading Gold Coast criminologist believes the lack of a dedicated drug squad is one of the biggest flaws in policing on the Glitter Strip.

He also warned a ‘warehouse police’ model – in which officers collect their gear from a warehouse and hit the road rather than being based in a station – would need to be closely managed if it was to be successful on the Coast.

Bond University’s Dr Terry Goldsworthy, a former Gold Coast detective with more than 28 years policing experience in Australia, said a dedicated drug squad should be the first cab off the rank when discussing the future of police.

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Dr Terry Goldsworthy thinks the most important thing Gold Coast policing needs looking to the duture is a dedicated drug squad. Pic by Richard Gosling

“I think we need a dedicated drug squad down here, there’s no doubt about that. I’m a bit concerned that over the last 12 months, we’ve seen a large drop in drug offences on the Gold Coast. Trafficking is down by about 45 per cent or there abouts, every category of drug offences has dropped on the Gold Coast,” Dr Goldsworthy said.

GOLD COAST’S ‘WAREHOUSE’ POLICING

“To justify a decrease in drug arrests, you’d have to say there is a decrease in the drug market activity, or drug usage, well I’m not aware of anyone in frontline services who has been saying that at all, when you talk about methamphetamine.

“To my understanding it’s still problematic and it’s increasing.”

Dr Goldsworthy said the amount of crime that stems from drug use justifies the creation of a drug squad.

“There’s three crimes attached to drug use, one is the affects of the drug cause crime, the economic effect, where people commit crime to supply habits and then you have the people who use it as a business to generate income.

The future of policing is going to be more mobile and technology driven. Rapid Action Patrol officers Sergeant Matt Pyke and Senior Constable Klay Williams (left) at work. Picture Glenn Hampson

“There’s a clear link between drug crime and property crime, if you’re not penetrating into the drug market and punching down that activity, then I don’t know what affect your having on the other crimes that go with it.”

Dr Goldsworthy said it was important for the community to see police respond to tip-offs and publicly driven intelligence.

“When I was in the CIB here, we used to do fortnightly drug raids on our Crime Stoppers information, to make sure we actioned it. If people ring up and say Joe Blogs across the road is dealing drugs and growing plants out the back, if they don’t see police go there in two to three weeks, they won’t ring again.

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Rapid Action Patrol officers Sergeant Matt Pyke and Senior Constable Klay Williams at work. Picture Glenn Hampson

“Timely reaction to public intelligence is one of the best tools that they’ve got, it’s very important.

“It also lets the crooks know that the police are proactive and this is a hostile environment, so don’t operate in it.”

Dr Goldsworthy said the concept of warehouse policing would work if it is done properly.

“The concept of warehouse policing was meant to occur back in 2013, when Commissioner Ian Stewart did his restructure,” he said.

Dr Goldsworthy says police are being sucked back into the traditional model of policing.

“That’s what the RAP concept was, you put 100 police in there, they get in the car and they drive out and they’re proactive and go out and turn them over. And we did see that when RAP initially started … it was the concept of the warehouse policing, but now it’s walking the beat at Surfers Paradise, 20 of them sent up to Coomera to do something up there.

“They’re really being sucked back into the traditional model of policing, where they’re being allocated to divisional jobs, which means they’re not being proactive.

“They talk about case and place reaction … you react to crime trends in a timely fashion, when they’re happening. To do that, you have to have proactive police resources, you’re not going to have them, if you’ve got units like the RAP and just sucking them back into the district function.”

He said that police numbers on the Coast seem about right, with enough police on ground, but wanted to know more about the directions of the upper management of police to make sure officers are used correctly.

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“I think we’ve got sufficient resources, compare it to when I was down here, it’s like heaven. There was no Major and Organised Crime squad, there was no RAP, they’re just extra assets they’ve got.

“There’s plenty of police on the ground … the three levels of management, strategic, operational and tactical direction need to be sorted out.

“You need a clear direction at all three levels and I will be interested to see what the new AC sees as his new crime priorities.”