LACK OF OFFICERS

Child protection officer gap sparks welfare fears

A NORTH Queensland police district does not have a specialised officer trained to monitor the movements of sex offenders, despite being one of the biggest districts in the state.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers is calling for 100 extra child protection officers, saying officers need more support.

ONE of the state’s biggest police districts does not have a specialised officer to keep track of child sex offenders, prompting a renewed call for more police to regional Queensland.

The Mount Isa Police District is deprived of a Child Protection Offender Registry officer despite the western region spanning more than 370,000sq km.

The Townsville Police District has two officers, similar to other major areas in the state.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said more police were desperately needed, including about 100 extra child protection roles.

Child Protection Offender Registry officers are specialist investigators responsible for monitoring the movements of reportable offenders who are subject to the Child Protection Act.

The call for more police comes as Townsville Child Protection and Investigation Unit officer-in-charge Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Miles revealed his team dealt with about nine cases each day, making the unit one of the busiest in the state.

Snr-sgt Miles said these notifications included allegations of child harm, sexual abuse, neglect and cybercrime.

Mr Leavers said these roles took a huge toll on police.

“As a police officer who has worked in child protection, I know first-hand just how tough it is,” he said. “The emotional impact that being exposed to constant child abuse day in, day out, can have is a massive impact on police.”

The Mount Isa Police District houses 15 police divisions and meets the border of South Australia, the Northern Territory and spans up to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Mr Leavers said more police are needed to ensure the welfare of these officers.

“The Queensland Police Union has clearly stated that we need an extra 1650 new, additional police right across Queensland with at least 300 in investigative capacities, as we could easily do with an extra 100 police in child protection roles,” he said.

“As we near the election we are hopeful both sides of politics will commit these police.”

Police Minister Mark Ryan said Queensland had the strongest laws in the country to protect the community from child sex offenders.

Queensland Police Service would not disclose the number of registered sex offenders in Townsville or Mount Isa districts, but said there were 3601 reportable offenders last year and 3690 to date this year across the state.

Mr Ryan said $27 million in funding towards the Queensland Police

Service had already supported an increase in staff and resources for monitoring these offenders.

He said 16 police positions were created in October 2018 to support the monitoring of registered sex offenders statewide.

The QPS has advised that these new positions and enhancements have “greatly improved” the capability of the QPS, and in turn have provided greater capacity for the management of offenders in a more targeted and effective way.

Mr Ryan said the management of reportable offenders in the Mount Isa Police District was undertaken by other district staff.