QPS rolls out new Mobile Police Facility vehicles

Published Tuesday, 22 March, 2016 at 10:00 AM

Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Minister for Corrective Services
The Honourable Bill Byrne

Queensland’s regional communities will be better served after Police Minister Bill Byrne and Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon today launched three new vehicles which can transform into instant command centres at major crime scenes.

Mr Byrne said the Mobile Police Facility vehicles would be deployed to Cairns, Toowoomba and Roma to assist local police and provide better service to the community.

“This is state-of-the-art equipment,” Mr Byrne said.

“It provides instant command centres that have extensive capabilities.

“They’ve be very effective for police in the past because senior supervisors can be on the ground coordinating local responses right at the heart of the action.

“They can be deployed to scenes of major crimes and search and rescue operations as well as used during natural disasters like floods and cyclones and major events like music festivals.

“We have an extra 266 police on the beat this year.

“Extra police is one thing but resources like these mobile command centres are important to providing support to police and the community when they need it most.”

Assistant Commissioner Condon said the three new vehicles were in addition to seven Mobile Police Facility vehicles already in the QPS fleet. The most recent Mobile Police Facility was delivered to Mount Isa in February 2016.

“Having the ability to access vital capabilities and technology directly at the scene of a crime or incident is vital to modern day policing,” Assistant Commissioner Condon said.

“Mobile Police Facility vehicles have proven to be invaluable assets, essentially giving police responders and coordinators the same connectivity they would have at a police station.

“We have undertaken extensive research and consultation with operational staff who have used the vehicles in our current fleet and looked at ways to improve their capability.

“Following feedback from officers, we have upgraded the telephone system by installing an additional service connection and improving the data transfer rate to the QPS computer network. The system now provides a wi-fi hotspot surrounding the vehicle to allow the use of QPS mobile devices.

“The vehicle has had a significant upgrade in the external scene lighting and two of the vehicles being launched today have all wheel drive capability to allow access to areas previously out of reach due to the nature of the terrain.”

The vehicle's capabilities include:

  • Mercedes Benz Sprinter 519CDI LWB Van
  • 3.0L V6 turbo diesel engine with 7spd Automatic
  • Mix of standard 2WD and AWD drivetrains (depending on location)
  • Six Airbag SRS system with seatbelt pre-tensioner
  • Satellite phone and radio systems providing voice communications throughout the state;
  • Systems to allow direct communications to other emergency services, marine vessels and aircraft;
  • Designated work area for a Police Forward Commander;
  • Two internal workstations fitted with interconnected computers, wirelessly connected to the QPS networks through encrypted software systems;
  • Storage for equipment necessary to establish and operate a Police Forward Command Post;
  • A trailer with a large capacity 15kva generator capable of powering a Police Forward Command Post with sufficient fuel capacity to operate for 48 hours.

 ENDS

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