MEDIA STATEMENT: Crisafulli Government delivers reinforcements to the police frontline in regional Queensland 

Crisafulli Government delivers reinforcements to the police frontline in regional Queensland 

• 55 new police officers will be sent to regional Queensland as part of the Crisafulli Government’s commitment to make the community safe. 
• The new officers are just the start of a pipeline of hundreds of recruits to reinforce the police frontline across Queensland. 
• The Crisafulli Government is delivering police the tools they need to do their jobs properly in the Making Queensland Safer Laws.  

The Crisafulli Government is delivering safer communities with more police troops for regional Queensland, including 55 new officers deploying across the state from next week.  

The cohort of recruits graduated from their training program, which included a unique deployment to flood-affected Townsville where the officers-in-training assisted with clean-up efforts. 

After being officially sworn in at the Townsville ceremony today, officers will join frontline police next week in stations like Cairns, Townsville, Ingham, Kirwan, Gladstone and the Whitsundays as part of a targeted approach from the Crisafulli Government to turn the tide on Labor’s Youth Crime Crisis. 

The 55 officers are just the start of the pipeline that will see hundreds more recruits reinforce the police frontline across Queensland this year, delivering on the Crisafulli Government’s commitment to make the community safe.   

The previous Labor Government oversaw record attrition rates with hundreds of police leaving the job each year due to burnout and lack of support.  

Unlike Labor, the Crisafulli Government will deliver officers the support they need to do their job properly in the Making Queensland Safer Laws and investing $13.5 million to bolster the police mental health framework.  

Minister for Police Dan Purdie said being a police officer was a challenging but rewarding career, and thanked recruits for their commitment to serve and protect their community.  

“I was a police officer for more than 25 years and during that time I saw the worst of the worst and the best of the best, sometimes in the same day,” Minister Purdie said. 

“My message to our newest officers is that you will be rewarded with mateship and gain a unique perspective on the value of service to your community. 

“We will continue to give police the laws and resources they need to make the community and officers safe. We will always have your back.” 

Six graduates from this cohort come from policing families, reflecting the deep-rooted tradition of service in regional communities.  

The induction of Constable Jesse Kinbacher, in the presence of his father, Sergeant Andrew Kinbacher, and grandfather, retired Sergeant John Kinbacher, marks a legacy of more than 100 years of continuous QPS service by the Kinbacher family.  

Commissioner of Police Steve Gollschewski APM congratulated the newest officers and acknowledged the significance of their deployment. 

"Investing in regional Queensland means investing in the people who understand these communities best," Commissioner Gollschewski said.  

"Many of these new officers will serve in their hometowns where they have strong ties and knowledge that will help create safer, resilient communities and an understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities of policing in regional Queensland."