Saturday, February 15, 2025

Goondiwindi takes crime fight to state conference

Goondiwindi Regional Council this week continued its advocacy for changes to Queensland policing and justice powers to better protect the local community.

At its June Ordinary Meeting, Councillors unanimously voted to submit a motion for consideration at the 2022 Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) annual conference to review the Juvenile Justice and associated Acts to provide for enhanced police powers and greater consequences for offenders and additional community supervision for offenders under restraint or community release.

“Unfortunately, Goondiwindi town has been subject to a series of break-ins and thefts from a small number of repeat youth offenders and our community has been requesting solutions from the state government for some time now,” said Mayor, Lawrence Springborg.

“As much as this is a state responsibility, on behalf of our community our Council is using every avenue possible to advocate for changes.

“From the outset I want to say that our local police have the full support and confidence of Council, but they are often let down by the courts and other agencies.”

The Mayor welcomed recent news that the Goondiwindi Police station will now be permanently staffed to operate 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

“A 24-hour police station provides police with increased resources to find and apprehend criminals. It doesn’t, however, address the state limitations in relation to intercepting stolen vehicles, or cross-border jurisdictional issues,” he said.

“Whilst we’ve been grateful for the assistance to date from the state government, much more needs to be done to break the cycle of crime and hold brazen repeat offenders accountable and protect communities.

“As we were reminded recently in the court case relating to the tragic deaths of Kate Leadbetter, Matthew Field and their unborn baby Miles, we need better deterrents and interventions to prevent ours and other communities from becoming the victim of similar tragic consequences of repeat youth criminals.

“Breaking the cycle of crime requires appropriate resources and effective laws, for education, child safety, police, court and justice systems, all of which are a state responsibility, and more must be done to prevent crime and hold offenders accountable,” said the Mayor.

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