New police taskforce deployed to youth crime hotspots

• A new rapid response police taskforce (Taskforce Guardian) has been established to target youth crime hotspots and support local communities across Queensland.
• Detectives team up with Youth Justice (YJ) workers in the flexible policing initiative.  
• Teams can be deployed anywhere in Queensland as part of QPS flying squad model. 

A new rapid response police taskforce has been established to target serious repeat juvenile offenders and provide immediate support to local communities across Queensland.

Taskforce Guardian involves dedicated Queensland Police detectives and expert Youth Justice (YJ) workers being deployed to key locations to assist local police efforts in disrupting youth crime offending.

Once on the ground, the Youth Flying Squad teams are able to saturate problem-areas and, alongside local police, help foster a positive rapport with high-risk and at-risk young people.

Taskforce Guardian will supplement local resources and work with key support services focusing on health, education, disability services and First Nations initiatives.

Prior to formally being established, State Flying Squad teams have been deployed to various locations across the state including Townsville, Cairns, Logan, Bowen, Dalby, Ipswich, Emerald, Laidley and Wide Bay.

Since May 7, the teams focusing on youth crime have charged 162 young people with more than 448 offences ranging from stealing, burglary, unlawful use of motor vehicle, assault and robbery amongst others.

Of these, 105 young people have had proceedings commenced by way of diversionary measures.

An investment of $17 million helping to boost the Queensland Police Service (QPS) State Flying Squad capabilities and establishing its new Youth Flying Squad arm, Taskforce Guardian.

The investment is part of the State Government’s $446 million announced to help boost police resources, tackle the complex causes of youth crime and support community safety.

Quotes attributable to Police Minister Mark Ryan:

“Everyone wants the same thing; we want our communities to be safe.

“I know that police work relentlessly every day to achieve that goal.

“I commend the QPS on establishing Taskforce Guardian which builds on the already successful outcomes of the State Flying Squad and Youth Co-responder models.

“The State Government is committed to not only supporting our police with the strongest youth justice laws in the country but the resources they need to keep our communities safe.”

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Youth Justice, Di Farmer

“Community safety is absolutely paramount, and this is another example of police and Youth Justice working as partners to respond to high risk youth offending.

“It will effectively bolster local resources where and when needed.

“And importantly, the teams will work with key agencies on the ground, including health, education and disability services, to continue linking young people and families to services that can help tackle the complex causes of crime.

“This ensures there is a targeted, flexible and comprehensive response to youth offending, while providing additional support to regions across the state.”

Quotes attributable to QPS Commissioner Katarina Carroll:

“Our rapid response teams are highly mobile and go into areas where their expert support is needed most.

“The Youth Flying Squad called Taskforce Guardian is all about supporting local police with detectives and Youth Justice workers to target the high-end offenders in hotspot locations.

“We are already seeing encouraging results and we look forward to rolling out various operations at locations across the state over the coming weeks.” 

Quotes attributable to Commander of the Youth Crime Taskforce Acting Assistant Commissioner George Marchesini:

“Community safety continues to be our priority and this initiative will strengthen our capabilities to deliver.”

“The establishment of this new rapid-response arm of the State Flying Squad, solely focussed on youth-crime, will provide immediate support to local police to disrupt youth offending.

“We will continue to work day-in and day-out to address youth crime and work collaboratively with our partners in government and community to achieve better outcomes for Queensland.”

ENDS