Youth crime time bomb

Northern suburbs need schools, police, activities

paul.weston@news.com.au the other solution is two new police stations with 25 officers each to be located between Beenleigh and Coomera.

State Parliament has been told seven new schools in a 10km stretch of the Pacific Motorway were built between 2009 and 2015 but more are needed.

“Some of those schools are already overpopulated. They are bursting at the seams,” 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOST CITY Coomera MP Michael Crandon said.

“We have two new schools coming online – a private and public school – in the next couple of years so by 2019 we will see nine schools in 10 years.”

Mr Crandon said 28 per cent of the population in the northern suburbs was under 15, which compared to the Coast average of 18 per cent.

“We have a real need for a whole bunch of infrastructure, things like sports parks and other types of entertainment for people,” he told Parliament.

Mr Crandon told the Bulletin he had researched police data that confirmed there were not enough officers in the growing region.

The northern Coast had one officer for every 2400 residents, which compared to one for 320 in Surfers Paradise and one for 612

The Queensland Police Service this month redeployed 13 Surfers Paradise police to Coomera in a three-month trial.

“There’s no doubt about it (the youth crime problem),” Mr Crandon said.

“We’ve got a breakfast of champions meeting on May 3 where we hope to get about in southern Ipswich. 100 locals to talk about the needs for youths on the northern Gold Coast.”

Area councillor William Owen-Jones said the council was sponsoring the breakfast, which would consider potential solutions such as a new police citizens youth club.

“The last new PCYC on the Gold Coast was built 30 years ago. There is nothing (in terms of that type of facility) between Nerang and Beenleigh,” Cr Owen-Jones said.