The stand provides an easy platform for residents and travellers alike, to stop and have a chat with the local police. 

Many of the conversations I have with community member’s centres around property crime and juvenile offenders. 

I find there have been a number of consistent comments made regarding options to this issue, so I would like to discuss some of those today.

Youth curfews: “Why don’t we have a youth curfew?” “Can we get one for the town?”  Currently, curfews can be set by the courts when establishing bail conditions, or as part of a youth justice order. 

There is no current legislative authority that allows for a ‘blanket’ curfew to be imposed on a location or demographic. 

Where the court has imposed a curfew condition upon an individual, this is checked specifically and repeatedly for the duration of that bail, by Police to ensure compliance. 

Where non-compliance is identified, legislation allows for that individual to be bought back before the Court, where Police can seek revocation of that bail. 

The establishment of the Mount Isa District Property Crime Squad, together with the Mount Isa Police Station’s general duties uniformed police, has seen many offenders placed before the court, subject to bail conditions – including curfew, which has then been breached.

These offenders have been placed back before the court for the successful revocation of their bail, which has seen them remanded in custody and transferred to a youth detention facility. 

Reporting Offences: “We have been broken into three times, but I don’t bother reporting it anymore” In order for crime to be investigated, crime needs to be reported:

·  For crime occurring now – RING 000. 

·  For crime, which has already occurred – RING POLICELINK 131 444.

·  If you have information, which may assist the investigation of crime – RING CRIMESTOPPERS 1800 333 000.

The importance of accurately reporting all matters to police, leads me to the next common question…

Police Patrols: “How do you allocate the patrols?” The allocation of resources is intelligence-driven and evidence-based. 

All reporting is analysed and reviewed to assess the local ‘hot spots’ and emerging crime trends. If matters are not reported, they cannot be considered in this analysis, which determines the tasks and patrol activities conducted.

We would like to remind everyone to please remember to secure your property – remove all valuables from vehicles (this includes small amounts of loose change, and cigarettes), and lock both your vehicles and homes. 

There is always more information on local policing issues on the Mount Isa Police Blog – subscribe to this free informative service today by visiting mypolice.qld.gov.au/mountisa and entering your email in the top right corner of the screen.