Taskforce Guardian’s latest Toowoomba deployment ends with 20 arrests

This elite youth crime taskforce has been deployed to Toowoomba six times in the past nine months and resulted in dozens of arrests, while also working with families to keep kids out of trouble.

The latest youth crime crackdown has led to 16 young people arrested in the space of 10 days.

The arrests were made with the support of Taskforce Guardian, the Queensland Police Service roving youth crime team that is deployed to communities during spikes in offending.

From February 26 - March 6, they arrested 20 people on 98 offences, including 16 young people on 87 offences.

Darling Downs District Officer, Superintendent Doug McDonald said Taskforce Guardian’s consistent support went a long way towards improving community safety and curbing youth offending.

“We’re committed to tackling youth crime from all angles, whether it be high-visibility patrols, proactive enforcement operations or early intervention and prevention strategies.

“Not only does Taskforce Guardian help local police tackle recidivist property offending in the region, but it also enables engagement opportunities with Youth Justice workers when out on patrol.

“Our District is always grateful for the additional support from Taskforce Guardian and the team has continued to respond for calls to service when we need them most.

“We will continue to use the Taskforce as a resource to support our local police, who do an excellent job day in and day in keeping our community safe.”

The rapid response taskforce saturates problem-areas and bolsters local police with additional resources to tackle youth offending, with a focus on property crime and bail offences.

This was the sixth deployment to Toowoomba since it formed in May 2023.

The taskforce collaborates with support services to engage at-risk youth with relevant programs that focus on health, education, disability services and First Nations initiatives.