Condamine MP says he will monitor situation to see if Pittsworth police staffing needs boost

Does Pittsworth need more police? Condamine MP Pat Weir said he would monitor the situation after police took 45 minutes to respond to an urgent school incident.

Pittsworth State High School, Pittsworth, outside Toowoomba QLD.

Condamine MP Pat Weir has adopted a “wait and see” approach to police staffing levels in Pittsworth after it emerged officers took 45 minutes to attend an urgent incident at Pittsworth State High School late last month.

Mr Weir said he had spoken with the regional inspector about the matter.

“It was one of those circumstances where (local police) were unavailable so that is no fault of theirs, that’s just one of those things,” he said.

“Police were dispatched from Toowoomba, and they did arrive there as quickly as possible.”

Police allege that on April 27, Pittsworth State High School was sent into lockdown after Wayne Glenn Lloyd Castle punched a male teacher in the face and threatened to shoot two others.

Mr Castle was denied bail in Toowoomba Magistrates Court when he appeared in custody the following day.

His charges include assault occasioning bodily harm, threatening violence and trespassing.

Mr Weir said he would monitor the situation to see if it was a one-off.

“If not, then obviously resources need to be boosted to cater for it,” he said.

“But Pittsworth, by and large, is a very law-abiding and peaceful town.”

On other policing matters, Mr Weir said he had been calling for a second officer at Cambooya for some time now because the workload was “too much for a one man station”.

He also said there was an increasing workload in the Goombungee, Meringandan and Kingsthorpe areas.

“There are a lot of complaints from (Kingsthorpe) for hooning, and the number of stolen cars abandoned out there – you see them all the time.

“That is an area that needs more patrolling and more officers.”