Revamp may lift police staffing

Commissioner expects division of force to help Far North

REINSTATING a top-level police officer in Cairns could result in more cops and resources flowing to the region.

That’s the hope of Queensland’s police boss, Commissioner Katarina Carroll, who announced a major shake-up of the Queensland Police Service this week, including the Far North and North Queensland splitting, each region getting an assistant commissioner and a deputy commissioner to oversee all of regional Queensland.

Current northern region boss Paul Taylor has been named as the deputy.

Prior to the shift the most senior officer in the Far North was Chief Supt Brian Huxley.

Speaking to the Cairns Post, Ms Carroll said having an assistant commissioner back in the region meant the service would be able to better lobby for specific Far North needs.

“(The former northern region) was geographically very large and difficult to achieve all you want to in a large area,” she said.

“Regional Queensland needed more attention.

“It will be easier to allocate (staff) for growth.

“(Having an assistant commissioner and deputy commissioner) there will be a lot more people to advocate.”

She said it would also help with their dealings with other agencies, most of which have the same Far North/North division.

The Far North previously had an assistant commissioner, a position once held by Ms Carroll, before the super Northern Region was created by former Commissioner Ian Stewart.

Ms Carroll, a Far North local, said her knowledge of the area helped as part of her major review of the service.

“Having been raised and working there for many years I know the issues and challenges,” she said.

The Townsville-based assistant commissioner is expected to be announced next week, while it could take several months for the Cairns position to be filled as work needs to be done to redivide the regions.

Ms Carroll said Mr Taylor’s new role would allow him to travel more to remote communities, including Aurukun, which is still recovering from rioting following an alleged murder.

She described the rioting as “an extremely unfortunate incident between families” and said the funeral for the alleged murder victim was due to be held today.