Police resources across Gympie are again under the spotlight over a decision to not allocate one of six new senior cop jobs to the region despite ongoing crime problems – but police deny the region is missing out.
Easter Sunday became an overnight emergency zone after several Gympie CBD shop went up in flames.
In his budget reply speech on Thursday, June 15, Tony Perrett criticised the decision to exclude Gympie from the Wide Bay area’s six new senior District Duty Officers.
The DDO appointments were made following a campaign by the Wide Bay NewsCorp mastheads, including the Gympie Times.
This was launched on the back of a 2023 coronial inquest into the tragic death of William George Grimes, who died after a police standoff at Granville State School on the Fraser Coast.
During the 2020 incident Mr Grimes, 31, doused himself in fuel.
An inquest into the tragic death of Maryborough’s William George Grimes led to a coronial recommendation for District Duty Officers to be established across the Wide Bay. It was the only region between the Gold Coast and Cairns without the senior positions.
Coroner Terry Ryan was unable to determine whether the fuel was ignited by a police taser, or a lighter Mr Grimes had been holding.
Mr Ryan did recommend DDO senior sergeant positions be established, as the most senior officer at the scene in 2020 had seven years’ experience.
The Wide Bay was the only region between the Gold Coast and Cairns to not have the positions.
Several officers who gave evidence said it would have been beneficial.
The new positions were announced in May, 2023, but Mr Perrett said a big piece of the of the Wide Bay was missing from the equation.
“Not one will come to Gympie,” Mr Perrett said.
“Out of all the new growth portfolios, including eight senior sergeant positions, the Gympie Patrol Group received no extra staff.”
Gympie MP Tony Perrett says none of the six new senior sergeant District Duty Officer positions will be based at Gympie, a decision the LNP MP criticised in his budget reply speech in state parliament on June 15, 2023.
This was on top of the rapidly growing region already lacking “a property crime team, drug team, dog squad, forensic crash unit, tactical crime squad, water police, PCYC, crime manager, support officer or brief manager”.
Police have previously said in response to criticism of Gympie’s police resources “the QPS has sufficient staff and resources to deliver professional policing services to all Gympie residents and visitors, including city-based businesses”.
The Wide Bay Burnett Police District, which includes Gympie, had “the discretion and flexibility to allocate police resources as needed” and the “borderless model … ensures our workforce is agile and adaptable, and not restricted by traditional policing boundaries”, QPS media said.
On Tuesday they reiterated that position.
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But Mr Perrett said in his speech this was “hollow”.
“I am told Gympie will rarely see the district duty officers who will be in Hervey Bay or Bundaberg,” Mr Perrett said.
“I am told that the Tactical Crime Squad spends only 10 per cent of its time with the Gympie Patrol Group. It takes the squad two hours to get to Gympie; the same for the Dog Squad.”
Police services across the region has been a point of contention for several months.
This included revelations in April the Mary Valley had been left with no frontline officers for more than a month, with the two officers stationed at Imbil on leave at the same time.