Queensland Police Service Community Policing QUEENSLAND The state of Queensland is the secondlargest state in Australia (670,500 square miles) which is approximately the size of Texas and California combined. QUEENSLAND On the January 1, 1864 the Queensland Force, now called the Queensland Police Service (QPS), comprising of approximately 143 employees, first began operating under its own legislation. Queensland Police Service As of June 30 2002, there were 8367 sworn staff (20.2% females) and 2925 staff members at 321 Police Stations, 40 Police Beat Shopfronts and 21 Neighbourhood Police Beats, throughout the State. The 2003-04 budget is $1.001 billion. The QPS is committed to increasing the number of police officers in Queensland to 9,100 by September 2005. Queensland Police Service The Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 consolidates police powers contained in more than 130 Queensland statutes and is the result of more than a decade of work. The Act became effective on 1 July 2000. The QPS is divided into eight regions as follows: Queensland Police Regions Community Policing Community Policing has been adopted as the primary policing strategy (definition of community policing - the police and the community working together to identify opportunities and solve policing problems). "Members of the Service are to act in partnership with the Community at large. Programs The QPS has several programs designed to bring the police closer to the community Police Beat Shopfronts Police Beat The Police Beat Program encompasses the Police Beat Shopfronts and the Neighbourhood Police Beats. The Police Beat Shopfronts program was launched on December 20, 1992 and is an initiative aimed at providing the people of Queensland with an effective policing presence in shopping centres and central business districts. Police Beat Shopfronts The Police Beat Shopfronts program is an operational policing concept in community policing with the following objectives: Improve the community feeling about personal safety; Reduce the community fear of crime; Satisfy the need for people to communicate more easily with police; Raise the perception of risking detection when committing offences; and Contribute positively to the Queensland Police Service Strategic Plan. Definition 'Police Beat' is operational policing. In order to promote the concept to retailers, centre management, the community and police, Police Beat shopfronts must operate as part of the policing environment for the whole area. Police Beat officers walk the beat, talk to people, solve problems, handle complaints, make arrests and so on. Most occurrences of a policing nature that happens to be in the confines of that beat are handled by the Beat Police. Neighbourhood Police Beats The Neighbourhood Police Beat (NHPB) program was launched in 1993. It is a Government funded policing initiative aimed at providing the people of Queensland with an effective policing presence in urban situations. Due to community support for NHPBs, they have been and are expanding throughout the State. Neighbourhood Police Beat Neighbourhood Police Beat policing is, in essence, problem-oriented policing adopting the most effective solution to the policing problem that is encountered. It places police in a unique position to adopt problem-oriented policing to everything they do. Neighbourhood Police Beat The success of this program to date has been demonstrated by the high community acceptance of Neighbourhood Police Beats and the expressed desire of communities to have more of this service in their immediate area. Neighbourhood Police Beat Evidence has also revealed that police officers involved in the Neighbourhood Police Beat program are generally achieving a high degree of satisfaction in performing their duties, and are performing their duties effectively, efficiently and in line with their sworn oath of office. Neighbourhood Police Beat Definition Beat Policing can be defined as: "a philosophy of full service personalised policing, where the same officer works in the same area on a permanent basis, from a decentralised place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems." 'Police Beat' officers walk the beat, talk to people, solve problems, handle complaints, make arrests and so on. Most occurrences of a policing nature that happen to be in the confines of that beat area are handled by the police beat. Neighbourhood Police Beat Objectives The objectives of the Neighbourhood Police Beats program are to: Reduce repeat calls for service; Encourage problem solving; Develop problem-oriented and partnership policing (POPP) strategies targeting policing and community problems; Increase police-community interaction and information flow; Reduce the incidence of certain types of offending and undesirable behaviour; Increase community satisfaction with police; Increase the public's sense of safety; and Contribute positively to the Police Service Strategic Plan. Neighbourhood Watch is a program organised by the community in order to reduce residential crime. It is about working together as a community to improve our personal safety and household security. Most importantly, it is about encouraging interaction and a sense of responsibility between neighbours and communities. Householders are encouraged to join together in small informal groups for the purpose of improving the safety of their families and other neighbourhood residents. It is not a police scheme. Police only lend their expertise to enable residents to organise themselves for the purpose of minimising crime in their community. Neighbourhood Watch will only work if the community supports the scheme. Home Assist Secure Free The information includes: Home Checklist Book Provides practical advice about common home maintenance problems and solutions, home safety, legal and consumer protection issues, and sources of further specialised information. Home Assist Secure Security Provides Hints for You and Your Home information on how to make your home more secure and increase your personal security. Subsidised Assistance Assists people who are unable to obtain alternative assistance with minor home and yard maintenance and repairs. Home Assist Secure Home Police Security Assessments trained security assessors can inspect your home to help you decide on security-related repairs or installation of security hardware. They can also advise on personal safety issues. This service is only available in locations throughout the state where this program is operating. Home Assist Secure Who To is an eligible person? be eligible for free information and advice, you must be a home owner or live in private rental housing and be: 60 years or over; or of any age with a disability (or living with a family member who has a disability). Home Assist Secure In addition to the above, to receive subsidised assistance for work in their home, they need to be : in receipt of a Commonwealth Government pension or benefit; a resident in an area serviced by a Home Assist / Secure project; and unable to make use of alternative forms of assistance, such as family or friends, or other government programmes e.g. Home and Community Care, Veterans Affairs, etc. Police Citizens Youth Club The Queensland Police-Citizens Youth Welfare Association has made a valuable and positive contribution to the future of countless young people since it first began activities in 1948. Police Citizens Youth Club Through the hard work of Police Officers, staff and thousands of caring volunteers and members of the community a tradition has developed that is unique to Australia. Police Citizens Youth Club Objectives Included in the formation of the PCYC was a list of objectives which can be found in the "Memorandum of Association". These nine objectives provide a framework around which the activity programmes of the PCYC branches are based. These are: - Police Citizens Youth Club Objectives 1.To afford the young people of Queensland the opportunity to participate in clean and healthy recreation. 2.To improve the standard of physical fitness. 3.To encourage an interest in Australian flora and fauna. 4.To encourage the principles of good citizenship. Police Citizens Youth Club Objectives 5.To encourage and foster music, literature, art and culture. 6.To awaken citizens to their responsibilities towards adolescents. 7.To assist boys and girls to select their future vocations. Police Citizens Youth Club Objectives 8.To promote the physical, mental and social welfare of youth, who, by physical or other handicaps or because of the indigent circumstances of their parents, may be regarded as under - privileged. Police Citizens Youth Club Objectives 9.To do anything conducive to the welfare of youth and citizens generally. Whilst the objectives may be reminiscent of the time when they were written, the general message remains just as relevant and important today as it was then. To provide all possible guidance to assist young people through their formative years. Adopt a Cop The Adopt a Cop programme was implemented in 1985 as a means of building a better relationship between the police and children in the school community. The programme is designed to permit the volunteer police officer to work with his/her local school in fostering a better relationship between the Police Service and students. Adopt a Cop The programme has been rejuvenated to provide training and resources to enable the Officer in Charge of a police division to be aware of the involvement of police officers in the education of students who attend schools within their police division. The rejuvenated programme will seek to encourage and develop improved behaviour and more responsible attitudes of children towards the community in which they live. Adopt a Cop Aim / Objectives Aim "TO BE THE FOCAL POINT FOR THE POLICE SERVICE IN THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL COMMUNITY“ Objectives :Reduce crime through education. Improve the attitude of students to the community, police and the law. Demonstrate the values, responsibilities and obligations current society deems valuable. School Based Policing Program The Adopt a Cop program is not to be confused with the School Based Policing Program, which involves police participation, full time, in schools. School Based Policing Program The School Based Policing programme is a joint initiative of the Queensland Police Service and Education Queensland. The programme aims to assist school communities achieve educational, developmental and preventative outcomes to locally identified policing issues through the provision of a police officer to that community. School Based Policing Program The appointment of a school-based police officer to a school cluster (a group of schools comprising of one or two high schools and their feeder primary schools) is to assist the schools and the community by: School Based Policing Program addressing identified needs within the school community; assisting teachers in developing and presenting curriculum material to meet police and school community needs; and undertaking initial response and investigation of offences within the perimeters of the school. School Based Policing Program Participation by school-based officers in the education of students is an integral part of the current approach to policing which places a greater emphasis on community involvement. It is not the intention of the programme for schoolbased police officers to undertake functions which would ordinarily be carried out by teaching staff. School Based Policing Program These officers report directly to: the Officer in Charge, Juvenile Aid Bureau in the division where the cluster is located; or where there is no Juvenile Aid Bureau, the Officer in Charge of the nominated division where the school cluster is located. Safety House The Safety House Programme is a community-based and-funded programme with a network of easily identifiable houses and businesses for use by children whenever they feel unsafe whilst in the community. Safety House A Safety House can be a house, a shop or a business. The programme also aims to play a proactive role in community safety, by providing safer neighbourhoods for our children and personal safety education programmes within participating schools. Safety House Aims To deter persons from coming into an area and approaching children whilst in the community; To provide personal safety education programmes to children in participating schools. Through safety houses, to greatly improve the chance that if a child runs into the premises; (a) someone will be there; and (b) they will be given help and assistance Safety House What does the programme teach children? To recognise the Safety House symbol as: (a) a square plastic plate yellow in colour; with (b) a black triangle showing a house with a smiling face; (c) the "Working Together" logo; and (d) the Queensland Police Service logo. Safety House To (a) recognise Safety Houses as: houses with a Safety House plate on or as close as possible to the letter box. (b) commercial premises/business using the same sign but usually slightly larger and near the front door. Safety House 2003 International Police Executive Symposium October 11- 15, 2003 Kingdom of Bahrain Community Policing in Queensland Presentation by Dr. Mark Craig, QUT Brisbane. m.craig@qut.edu.au