Mount Isa police launched Operation Tucson on December 21.

The operation directly targets juvenile property crime in the Mount Isa.

The operation includes increased night time patrols, an additional six to 10 temporary officers and five new permanent officers, bringing back the police bike patrol, and deploying the mobile policing unit to crime hotspots

The police service is also working with local organisations and groups to establish a drop in center for at risk youth, create night patrols run by community groups and crackdown on truancy with the Department of Education.

Speaking at the time Inspector Chris Hodgman said police couldn’t arrest their way out of this problem.

“We need to be proactive with what we do with some of these youth,” he said.

Inspector Hodgman is right. Locking away offenders in the children or criminal justice system won’t solve this problem alone.

Operation Tucson is very much about public policing and been seen on the job which is a good thing but is only one part of the puzzle.

We all know juvenile crime is a huge issue (and during the election our readers told that only high air fares ranked higher in importance) and many have been directly affected but the solution is complex.

Cooperation between agencies is vital as a sharing of information and resources. 

I’d like to see that group of agencies that met regularly, coordinated by council, resume its work and I’d like to see their minutes and outcomes recorded in the public domain.

Education has to be a critical part of the process and it was nice to see role models like Cowboys star Matty Bowen talk about the importance of schooling at public events like the Yallambee Open Day on Tuesday where Indigenous young people gathered in large numbers.

I hope that the crackdown on truancy has some success but there has to be carrots as well as sticks. Young Indigenous kids need to know why school is good for them.

I wish this operation well – Derek Barry