Queensland Police have charged 60 teenagers with 190 offences as part of an operation by Taskforce Guardian – a dedicated team of police and youth justice workers targeting recidivist juvenile property offenders.
Taskforce Guardian worked in conjunction with local specialist and general duties Police officers in Rockhampton this week (October 9 to 17) as part of ongoing efforts to help foster community safety.
Acting Detective Inspector Joe Nixon from the State Flying Squad and Taskforce Guardian said the operation had assisted Rockhampton Police with both crime reduction and crime prevention.
“Taskforce Guardian along with local police saturated various areas that youths were known to frequent which has helped disrupt youth offending and anti-social behaviour,” Detective Inspector Nixon said.
“Our officers have also used the opportunity as a platform to engage with young people in an effort to foster a positive rapport on the road to crime prevention while providing appropriate support services that focus on health and education of our young people at risk.”
Queensland Police says the new rapid response arm works collaboratively with Youth Justice to target youth crime and provide immediate support to local police to target and disrupt youth offending.
Over the past week, officers across Rockhampton conducted hundreds of engagements including street checks, bail checks, breaches of bail and warrants.
In that time, Taskforce Guardian officers, in conjunction with local police, charged 60 youths on a total of 190 charges including burglary, break, enter stealing and more.
