OUR GROWING CITY NEEDS AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO POLICING
Times are changing and Gold Coast police are changing with them to make sure we keep the community safe
I don’t think anyone can really be certain about what things will be like in five or ten years time. The pace of change is extraordinary. Some for the better and some not so. One of the few things I can really be sure of for policing over the next decade is that it won’t be the same as it is now. It can’t be. We need to be agile and continually adapt.
With few exceptions, regional policing essentially mirrors the structural approach taken since the establishment of the Queensland Police in 1864. The traditional approach is based on divisional boundaries created around a building (police station) with a defined number of officers assigned to that station to police that division. But buildings don’t prevent or respond to crime. People do. Our people, working in partnership with our community and other stakeholders do.
Times have changed. The world is smaller. Technology has evolved. Transport and communications have developed and the QPS has strongly invested in all of these areas to adapt to a mobile and connected future. Crime doesn’t observe divisional boundaries and nor should we. An exciting, dynamic and growing city like the Gold Coast deserves an innovative, flexible, preventative and responsive police service not constrained by historical or parochial boundaries or attitudes. That is our future but it will need courage at all levels to challenge the status quo and we are well on our way.
There is little doubt we will continue to face challenges from those who would seek to do harm to our community. Domestic violence, alcohol fuelled violence, child safety threats, youth crime, terrorism, road trauma, organised crime, drugs and robbery are all realities even in our comparatively safe part of the world. We cannot be complacent or rigid in our approach if we want to protect our quality of life.
So what is your police
service doing and planning for our post-Games future?
The innovative work of the GC Domestic & Family Violence Task Force in partnership with the Specialist DV Courts and an integrated network of government and community based support services is an example of a harm focussed approach to crime which is already lifting the lid on this multi-generational scurge. A similar approach is being implemented with Child Safety Officers around at-risk children. A mental health co-responder program is also being developed which partners police and mental health practitioners to de-escalate potentially high risk incidents.
Our officers are being equipped with digital communications devices, GPS tracking capability, body worn cameras, personal computer tablets all supported with state of the art computerised tasking systems. It is time to consolidate this investment and shift our focus away from ‘bricks and mortar’ to a mobile intelligence driven capability that ensures we can have the right people in the right place at the right time with the right resources whereever they may be needed across the Gold Coast or even before they are needed.
We have been adopting a ‘district’ rostering approach which enables us to redeploy officers on short term rotations to areas experiencing the greatest growth in crime and calls for service. We will continue to explore that process. We are also examining an innovative, flexible and integrated rostering arrangement within the Safe Night Precincts involving both Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach Stations.
We are leveraging the technology enabled capability established for Commonwealth Games operations to realise an enduring legacy for the Gold Coast. A new high-tech Joint Emergency Services Coordination Centre established for the games presents a genuine opportunity to challenge how we proactively deliver our services into the future.
We also plan to build on the benefits derived from the hub policing experiment that created RAP and look to harness the strength of the over 1000 police officers operating across the Gold Coast from Coolangatta to Yatala and out to Nerang and Mudgeeraba. We have already acquired land at a central location in Arundel to build a new multi-purpose police facility as a district hub by the end of 2019.
No we don’t have plans to close stations. They remain an important interface with the community we serve. Nor does it mean we have any plans to reduce police numbers across the district. In fact, there are are plans for continued growth. But as we consider calls for more, our fast growing city demands the most efficient and effective use of our resources to ensure we remain highly responsive to where we are needed most.
As we explore new and better ways to deliver services beyond the Commonwealth Games some things will never change. At the top of that list is our commitment to the safety and security of our community in keeping with the oath we swore, whatever the future brings. Another is that we cannot do it without you.
On behalf of all members of your police service across South Eastern Region I wish you a safe and peaceful 2018 full of hope and promise.