Crime code trial

QR data to help police

POLICE in the Torres Strait have begun the trial of a new system for reporting non-urgent crimes in an effort to address under-reporting across the Cape and islands.

Community members in three trial locations will be able to make brief initial contact with Policelink via a QR code instead of providing detailed information over the phone or visiting the website to complete a form.

Patrol Inspector Nick O’Brien has led the patrol group for two years, and said police believed there was substantial under-reporting of non-urgent crime in the region.

“We have police stationed on Thursday Island, Horn Island and at Bamaga,” Inspector O’Brien said.

“The remaining 14 islands, encompassing 15 different communities ranging in size from 40 people to 900 people, have no permanent police presence.

“To combat this, we conduct regular patrols in our Water Police vessels and place priority on engaging with our local communities.”

Insp O’Brien said police were able to respond to urgent triple-0 calls via boat, plane or helicopter.

“But when it comes to reporting non-urgent crime to Policelink, we are finding our community members are less inclined to reach out,” he said.

“Boat theft is a real concern. Up here it’s like losing the family car. If we don’t know about crimes however, we can’t help.

“We realised we needed to have a new strategy for nonurgent reporting in the Torres Strait and we worked with Policelink to develop the QR code reporting option.”

Inspector O’Brien said language difficulties and a lower reliance on personal computers were significant barriers that the QR code was designed to overcome.

“English is not always the first language for our community members, especially those living in the outer islands,” he said.

“It can be challenging talking to someone on the phone in another part of the state who doesn’t understand where you are calling from or what you are saying.

“People get frustrated and just hang up.”

Insp O’Brien said if people went to the Policelink website, it could be challenging to fill out the report form.

“Our local community members all have phones however, and are enthusiastic users of social media, so entering a small amount of data on a phone is not a problem for them,” he said.

The trial will run for some months in the three selected areas and, if successful, will be rolled out to the majority of the other islands in the Torres Strait.

While the trial has only just started, Thursday Island police recorded two QR code notifications on the first day at Saibai Island alone.