Police team still missing
THE arrival date of a specialist policing team, promised for Townsville in the lead- up to the state election, remains unclear with Commissioner Ian Stewart yet to lock in a deployment date.
A detachment of the Public Safety Response Team ( PSRT) comprising 53 new police officers was committed to Townsville by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in an announcement last October.
The specialist unit has the training and equipment to respond to high- level and potentially violent incidents beyond normal policing capabilities.
The PSRT would be deployed to protest sites, large gatherings, and in response to offences committed where large numbers of people are either offending or at risk.
Townsville Police Chief Superintendent Kev Guteridge said the beauty of the team was its capacity to deal with crowded environments.
“They are highly skilled officers who are well equipped to respond to street disturbances,” Chief Supt Guteridge said.
“They will play a critical role at things like the Groovin in the Moo festival and major events on The Strand because of their expertise in crowd management.
“Certainly they will be deployed, not only to anti- Adani illegal protests, but any incidents of that nature.”
A Queensland Police Service spokesman said Townsville continued to be an area of focus but gave no date for when the PSRT would arrive.
“The composition and establishment of a Public Safety Response Team and the deployment of officers are operational matters for the consideration of the Commissioner,” he said.
“The provision of specialist functions, such as those provided by PSRT, requires necessary lead- in times to account for recruitment and training of personnel.
“A PSRT presence in Townsville will provide an additional resource to the increased flexible and agile policing response being applied across the Townsville District.”
Townsville Police Superintendent Steve Munro said he would always welcome new officers to the region but Townsville was well equipped at this point in time.
Statistics for the most recent financial year show 554 officers in Townsville, or one for every 440 people.
Brisbane only has one officer for about every 770 people, meaning Townsville’s police presence is almost twice as dense.
“We would always like more resources, but certainly at this point in time when you look at some other locations across the state we are quite well resourced,” Supt Munro said.