We now cross live to the scene of the crime

ANY tool added to the police arsenal to assist frontline officers and help keep the public safe is an example of funds well spent. More than 600 livestreamcapable body cameras have been deployed to Townsville officers as part of a statewide program to roll out a total of 12,200 devices at a cost of $16 million.

Police Minister Mark Ryan was in town yesterday to spruik the benefits of the state-of-the-art cams that can pump live situation footage back to specialist or higher-ranking officers to assist with realtime decision processes that could protect the public or police themselves.

While Minister Ryan was talking tech, in another part of town Katter’s Australia Party leader Robbie Katter was at the scene of one of the city's most recent frightening incidents at Denham Lane where a young woman said she narrowly avoided being carjacked on Sunday night.

Mr Katter’s reason for choosing that scene to call for stronger protections for victims of crime who are at risk of facing prosecution after confronting criminals is unclear. But his underlying message reinforces community sentiment that not enough is being done to prevent youth crime in the region.

“This is not calling for people walking the streets with burning torches and pitch forks, but rather putting protections in place to reduce the number of people who are labelled as criminals by the police and courts simply for standing up for their personal or property rights when targeted as a victim of crime,” Mr Katter said.

Hopefully the state government will soon be able to share with North Queensland its plan to end our crime epidemic before any members of the public or perpetrators are harmed.