Crims face heat from Bellator

YET again a police operation has begun after a spike in property crime offences in Townsville.

After an onslaught of break- ins and stolen cars frustrated police in the past month, Operation Bellator has been launched.

It’s obviously not good news this is happening but good on the police for proactively tackling the issue.

Townsville police say local resources will be reallocated as part of the plan to try to stamp out the problem.

The “borderless policing” approach, used in last year’s Operation Quebec Ironside, is back too.

This is an innovative approach to tackling a serious problem, which worked last time. Almost 400 people were arrested as part of that operation, which was aimed at disrupting the drug trade and targeting crime hot spots in Townsville.

People cannot say that police and others in the broader community are not doing their best to try to tackle the problem.

Queensland Youth Services is an organisation that tries to keep young people on the right track and give them the opportunity to succeed.

The stories of Arianna Stone, 18, and Garret Magian, 21, who moved to Townsville with little support and in difficult situations is quite inspiring.

The service helped both people find somewhere to live and learn invaluable life skills as well as gain qualifications to help them find work.

Tackling crime and disadvantage often go hand- in- hand.

The Queensland Police Service has a serious job to do to protect the people doing the right thing in Townsville.

With organisations like Queensland Youth Services working behind the scenes in a different space but a complementary one, that cannot be a bad thing for tackling a serious problem.

There is always hope about fixing this problem and it’s inspiring to see the issue tackled in multiple ways.