POLICE PLAN BUS ROUTE BLITZ TO WIPE OUT CRIME
18 officers to patrol routes after spate of attacks
CAIRNS police will blitz bus routes this week to stamp out a wave of crime that has traumatised passengers and drivers alike.
Operation Esplanade Safety will result in 18 plain clothes and uniformed officers patrolling selected buses and interchanges.
“The drivers are in a shocking position when you have people who have no respect for authority let alone seniors,” Chief Superintendant Brian Huxley said.
Bike mounted officers have already begun patrolling the Cairns Esplanade and the surge of evening patrols will begin tonight and will continue beyond the weekend.
“The whole point is to let people go about their business without being harassed,” Chief Supt Huxley said.
The operation follows an alleged assault on a bus passenger last week, with two 13year-old girls charged.
Police have charged three more juveniles, aged 10, 12 and 14, over an alleged assault of two children on an outbound bus near Gordonvale.
The Transport Workers Union has recorded an increase in disturbances aboard Sunbus buses in Cairns since the COVID-19 precautions began on the public transport service.
“In March we had an increase in dangerous incidents, by the end of April it had more than doubled, in May there was another rise by one third,” the TWU’s Russell Vieritz said.
The TWU is in discussions with TransLink and the State Government over increasing security on Sunbus vehicles.
“Providing additional security, including the costs associated with that security, would be an operational decision that would need to be considered by the bus operator in consultation with their employees,” a TransLink spokesman said.