Picture: TAHLIA FACER
By Tahlia Facer
Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan has visited Bundaberg to announce 18 new positions to the Wide Bay Burnett District as part of the biggest investment in policing in more than three decades.
Mr Ryan confirmed that six of the new positions would be allocated to District Duty Officer (DDO) roles who would be tasked with providing a round-the-clock capability to the major centres of Bundaberg, Maryborough and Hervey Bay.
The government investment will deliver more than 2000 extra police personnel across the state, with Bundaberg set to secure two of the six DDO positions as well as two senior sergeants and and two general duty officers.
Assistant Commissioner Brian Connors said DDOs were responsible for overseeing district operations and providing support.
“They have a great deal of expertise to supervise and support our officers on a daily basis,” he said.
“They’re critical in terms of being able to support and provide leadership and guidance to junior officers.
“They provide a troubleshooting role, they also attend and take charge of serious incidents and they’ll be deployed on a 24/7 basis across the district.”
The assistant commissioner said while DDOs would have a home base, they were highly mobile officers based mostly in a vehicle to spread themselves across the district.
“In addition to that the investment in District Duty Officers brings us in line with a number of other districts around the state and provides that higher level of supervision that the front-line officers are calling out for,” he said.
Police Minister Mark Ryan detailed that the two DDO roles, which had not previously been allocated to the region, would be filled by senior police staff and be an incredibly important resource.
“[The DDOs will] ensure that not only policing operations and responses are streamlined, but [that] they’re appropriate and responsive to the needs of the community,” he said.
Mr Ryan said the additional 18 positions would be a welcomed boost to the region and one which Bundaberg MP Tom Smith had been advocating for.
“Here in Bundaberg what we’ll see are two general duty officers [and] two senior sergeants going into the child protection unit,” Mr Smith said.
“And of course having those six duty officers around the region ready to roll out into the Bundaberg district is an absolute game changer for the greater community but also our younger officers who are seeking that senior support as they go through their career.”
The Bundaberg MP said while the region’s youth crime statistics were declining year-on-year, it didn’t mean support ceased for the Bundaberg child protection unit and its commitment to assisting all children affected by or committing crime.
“Having two extra senior sergeants into that space will make a big difference in ensuring that our police have the equipment and the resources going forward, but that it’s also a safer community for our young people,” he said.
Mr Smith said the two additional general duty officers would also assist in providing police presence and deterrence in the CBD.
Assist. Comm. Connors said the announcement was fantastic news from both an operational and community perspective and confirmed the department was in the process of advertising for the positions.
“[The positions] range from front-line first responders to senior officers both in uniform and plain-clothes roles,” he said.
“Any extra police are welcome in our view and we do deploy them in a way that we try and have the greatest impact on community safety as we can.”
He said the recent road tolls were something the police service took to heart.
“Wide Bay Burnett is quite challenging at the current time particularly in regard to road safety,” he said.
“We’ve seen a number of instances on local roads in the past few months that have resulted in tragic outcomes for the community and for the police and emergency services.
“Any investment in numbers is very welcome and the decision by the QPS executives, supported by government, is very welcome.”
The assistant commissioner said the ripple effect caused by serious and fatal traffic crashes affected everyone.
“It doesn’t just affect first responders, it affects the whole community in areas like this in regional centres, where these people are very well known and very well connected across the community,” he said.
“We want to continue to offer road safety messaging to put the word out there to drivers to take care.
“Drive to the conditions, drive to their abilities and not put themselves or other road users at risk.
“It is very disappointing in some instances but it’s heartbreaking most of the time when we respond to any crash where people are injured, let alone crashes that result in fatal outcomes.”
He said while the repetitive messaging of road safety was sometimes frustrating, it was the role of first responders to continue to spread that message.
“People need to hear what we’re saying… and act and drive appropriately,” Assist. Comm. Connors said.
“[We need] people [to] talk about poor driving behaviour… talk about conditions… talk about not driving tired or impaired, and a whole range of things that are often back of mind rather than front of mind when people set about driving on our local roads.
“We can rest assured that there are police out and about particularly in high crash zones patrolling, but the sad reality is incidents, accidents and crashes can occur almost anywhere and it’s simply a direct result, in most instances, of driver behaviour and people not driving to conditions.
“I repeat the message again: we want people to drive smarter [and] we want people to drive with more care, for themselves, but also for their fellow road users.”