Over the past three weeks, Police Liaison Officers (PLO’s) from the Mount Isa Cross Cultural Liaison Unit (CCLU) have travelled from Alice Springs to Camooweal and all the places in between.
They spent three days in the Northern Territory with Mount Isa Detectives and local Aboriginal Liaison Officers (ALO’s), searching for and subsequently locating a high-risk missing Mount Isa girl, and supported the Camooweal community through funerals while simultaneously reviewing and providing invaluable feedback to agencies who support child victims through the Court process.
“Our PLO’s have an extremely broad job description which aligns with their extensive local knowledge and unwavering dedication to serve their community,” said Acting Sergeant Kyle Dennison, Officer in Charge of Mount Isa CCLU.
“PLO’s are key in obtaining local knowledge that would otherwise be unknown by Police.”
“The PLO’s have really impressed me in the small amount of time I have been working with them.
“On paper our unit is running at 50% capacity but the team is definitely far exceeding that in their tenacity and results.
“This is just the start for us as we move into one of our busiest times of the year.”
In addition to business as usual, PLOs’ are undertaking preparations for NAIDOC Week (July 2 – 9) as well as supporting and contributing to other projects including primary schools’ Walk to School Safely program and Cyber Safety training.
“The PLO team have also recently assisted one of our Stakeholders, PACT, by participating in a feedback session on the Conceptual Design of a suite of First Nation Resources,” said Acting Sergeant Dennison.
“The feedback they provided to PACT was very well received by the team who subsequently requested our participation and feedback on all the stages of the development of this resource.”
The Mount Isa CCLU also welcomes its newest PLO, Gracie Ryder, who is heavily invested in the Mount Isa Community and this week, traded her desk job for a uniform, a car and no doubt many exciting stories and experiences serving the community.
“I’m very excited for a change, getting out of the office and serving my community in a more hands on way,” said Police Liaison Officer Ryder.
If you or someone you know would be perfect for the PLO role, good news, Mount Isa has vacancies and is recruiting!
For more information, visit QPS Police Liaison Officers or email Mount Isa CCLU at [email protected].
