General News
22 May, 2025
Rosters key to policing
POLICE had to be rostered for busy times in Mossman which made it difficult to maintain a 24-hour presence, a meeting in the town has been told.
A third meeting about crime issues was held on Tuesday, May 13, in Mossman, to further discuss the crime issues experienced particularly by business owners over recent months.
Acting Superintendent Nathan Blain told 40 people at the meeting that “people want to feel safe in their homes and whilst domestic violence is still a key problem, there has been a 38 per cent reduction in reported crime.”
He said there was a 24-hour “response’ for Mossman, but rosters had to be based on busy times.
“Between 2pm and 10pm on Fridays is a good example of a busy time for local police during the week,” Acting Supt. Blain said. Represented at the meeting were elders, business owners, politicians, plus local and senior police force members, Douglas Shire Mayor Lisa Scomazzon, Member for Cook Davis Kempton and new Federal Member for Leichhardt Matt Smith.
Following the initial two public meetings, a voluntary community group was established to foster better relationships across the community, advocate for supporting frontline services, promote prevention and diversion programs, identify service gaps and encourage teamwork across agencies.
The group held its first meeting on April 28, committing to a whole community approach, addressing social challenges and promoting healthy change.
Business owner and group member Sharon Beechey said the community insisted on regular police patrols, employing two Indigenous police liaison officers, one male, one female to patrol during the day and in the evening.
“The community is also advocating for a 24-hour operational police station, a local diversion centre and a much more immediate response to 000 calls,” she said.
The issue of housing was raised by Christine Lynch from Elders Mossman Justice Group who said they would like to see more involvement from the Department of Housing so that they can be made aware of the current situation.
“The cost of housing has risen drastically with many people now not able to get any accommodation. This has been the situation for some time,” she said.
State Member David Kempton said he believed that recent law changes regarding youth crime had resulted in a positive effect.
“Young offenders will face more serious consequences for their actions,” he said.
Overall, the meeting acknowledged that no single group had all the answers, so working together is most important.
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