Top cop eager to hit beat at once
SOME might say out of the frying pan, into the fire – not the Far North’s newest top cop.
Geoff Sheldon has spent the past few years as the most senior detective at Inala, one of Brisbane’s most notorious suburbs, and is well aware his new home comes with its own set of issues, including property crime, socio-economic disparity and huge distances.
He said people remained “very, very concerned” about personal security, including alcohol-related or domestic violence, so policing resources must be directed there.
But, he said, he was well and truly up for the challenge the Far North was likely to set.
“I actually feel like I’m honoured to be invited to come and play,” he said.
“There’s no better place is there, it’s just magical.”
The father of two and vet- eran of more than 30 years as a police officer, most in plain clothes, fills the Superintendent job left behind by Brett Schafferius who was promoted to the Far North’s Chief Superintendent in June.
Although previously a regular holiday-maker in the region, he has only spent brief stints for work and adamant he will now get to all four corners, starting today with a trip to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.
“If you’re a victim of crime … just because you’re 1000km away (from Cairns) doesn’t mean you’re entitled to less of a service,” he said.
Disaster management, including preparation for cyclones, is new territory and he said working in a tourist town would also be a change of pace.
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