Police have charged 249 people with 308 offences across Wide Bay since a high visibility policing operation began in March last year.
Operation Whiskey Unison focuses on preventing, disrupting, and investigating youth crime through community engagement and patrols at intelligence-driven hotspot locations.
In the past 12 months, Operation Whiskey Unison has resulted in 11,023 people being arrested on 17,791 charges state-wide, including drug, weapons, traffic, property crime and bail offences.
Of the people arrested, 4,149 of them were juveniles, who are facing 7,551 charges.
There have been 3,246 proactive activities in the Wide Bay district, including hotspot patrols, shopping centre and business walkthroughs, bail compliance checks, community engagements and service station drop-ins.
Targeted youth crime locations can vary across the state, but include shopping centres, business, retail and restaurant precincts, service stations and other public spaces, as well as residential areas.
The boots-on-the-ground style of operation also allows more opportunities for officers and Police Liaison Officers (PLOs) to conduct bail checks and engage with young people.
Patrols largely involve a dedicated police presence using marked vehicles, Mobile Police Beats and foot patrols in known hotspot areas, with assets such as Mounted Unit and Highway patrol also used.
Youth Crime Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Massingham said these extra boots on the ground have been integral to supporting officers across the state over the past 12 months.
“Our officers work tirelessly to deter youth crime and we are taking steps in the right direction, but we know this is just the beginning of what will be a long road of persistent efforts,” he said.
