Nine reports a day made to one of busiest units in state

A SHOCKING number of child abuse reports are coming across the desks of the region’s police each day, with a top children’s cop saying Townsville’s is one of the busiest units in the state.

An average of nine notifications of potential child abuse or harm were reported to the Townsville Child Protection and Investigation Unit (CPIU) each day.

These offences included sexual assault, neglect, domestic violence and cybercrime.

The alarming statistics come as the Townsville Bulletin reveals more than 1400 cases of harm against children were reported in the Northern Region to the Department of Child Safety (DOCS) from September 2018 to September 2019.

The LNP recently announced its potential plan to overhaul the system in the wake of a damning Coroner’s report into the death of toddler Mason Jet Lee, which found it failed him in almost every way.

Officer in charge Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Miles ( pictured) said the Townsville CPIU was one of the busiest in the state, despite being in a regional area.

“It’s a lot … we have a large body of work that we do and some is with the Department of Child Safety,” he said.

“We are probably one of the busiest areas in the state but that is to be expected because of the size of our community.”

The unit received notifications from all sides of government, w weekly th that nobody basis knows … most ab about,” he said. Sen-sgt Miles said p police co conjunction worked with in D DOCS ca cases or on those significant of high risk.ri

“If criminal offences are being committed, then certainly we will be involved jointly with DOCS in all interactions with the families and children,” he said.

He said police had the power to remove children from their home if deemed appropriate.