Ryan hits back over cop beats

POLICE Minister Mark Ryan has slapped down demands from the LNP that the Government ensure police beats will not be closed in Townsville.

Burdekin MP Dale Last called on the Government to rule out shutting police beats and stations in Townsville after the Bulletin revealed several facilities were being considered for closure.

Mr Last, a former police officer, said allowing police beats to close would be another example of Labor being soft on crime.

“Police Minister Mark Ryan needs to guarantee there won’t be any closures of stations or police beats in Townsville,” Mr Last said.

“This is no way to answer the crime wave in North Queensland.”

However, Mr Ryan said any decisions about police resources and infrastructure rested, by law, with Police Commissioner Ian Stewart.

“Sadly, like many of his LNP colleagues, Dale Last either doesn’t understand this important tenet of our democracy or wilfully ignores it in the hope of scoring cheap political points,” Mr Ryan said.

“The reality is that Dale Last is attacking the police.”

Opposition police spokesman Trevor Watts said Mr Ryan should be advocating for more resources for the police. Mr Watts said police beats reduced the fear of crime in the community and were able to respond to specific local issues.

“Police beats play a crucial role in community safety by providing a grassroots, local police service you just can’t get with a centralised building,” Mr Watts said.

“A police beat is so much more than bricks and mortar – it’s a place where residents can talk to a police officer that knows the community inside and out.”

Mr Ryan said the LNP were out of touch with modern policing and said the review under way on beats and other facilities in Townsville was about improving service.