Some 125 recruits have completed their training and been welcomed into the Queensland Police Service. Photo: Queensland Police Service.
The Crisafulli Government is continuing with its law-and-order-focused first term, with a cohort of new police officers joining Queensland’s police ranks.
Some 125 new first-year constables have been welcomed into the Queensland Police Service, something the government has characterised as a “major boost” to policing across Queensland.
The graduates completed their course at Oxley Queensland Police Academy in a process that takes about eight months. They are set to be deployed across more than 60 police stations throughout the state in an effort to make communities safer and change the direction of what the LNP Government has consistently labelled a youth crime crisis.
“These 125 officers are not just joining the Queensland police, they’re joining the fight to take back our streets from youth offenders who think the law doesn’t apply to them,” Minister for Police and Emergency Services Dan Purdie said.
“The Crisafulli Government is putting police where Queenslanders need them most.”
The government has also included information on the roles the new constables held before they donned their blues. More than 60 professions are represented, with former tradies, defence personnel and youth workers joining the service.
The recruits are also from diverse backgrounds. The graduating class consists of 78 men and 47 women, with six First Nations officers in addition to officers born in China, Samoa, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.
The government has further supported the police service by providing frontline officers with $147.9 million in state-of-the-art equipment in addition to $290.3 million in upgrades to police stations, facilities and patrols, all in the effort to support 1600 recruits.
“Thanks to the Crisafulli Government’s record investment in policing, they’ll have better resources, better training and more support to keep Queenslanders safe,” Mr Purdie said.
“This budget backs our police, and it backs the communities they serve.”
As part of a wider anti-crime move, the government is also investing time in legislation aimed at crushing recidivism and instituting a general policy ethos that puts victims rather than perpetrators first. This realignment of justice policy is reflected in the neighbouring Northern Territory, where similar laws are being enacted.
Policies such as the Making Queensland Safer Laws and the controversial Adult Crime, Adult Time laws are aimed at youth crime, with a focus on holding young offenders to the same standard as adult offenders for the same crime.
