New police recruits for Bribie
SOME new faces have recently hit the police beat on Bribie Island and there's still more to arrive.
The new recruits have boosted police numbers to the point where it's the largest number of officers that have been stationed on the island for many years.
First-year constables Scott Donald and Craig Hampton have just started their training and they will be joined by Luke Young today. (Friday)
They join other new faces who have started in the past month including constables Dean Contessa, Benjamin Keatch and Matthew Holder and soon second-year constable David Masters will make the move from Deception Bay station.
Bribie Station officer in charge senior sergeant David Crawford-Raby said the boost in officer numbers was a welcome addition to the island.
"This is the largest number of officers we've had at the station for a long time which means all our vacancies are currently filled," he said.
"The increase allows us to put more officers out on the road and allows for more traffic operations and house raids.
"It also provides us with more mobility and flexibility when it comes to rostering officers on at different times of the day."
Snr Sgt Crawford-Raby said the new trainee officers would have the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience during their time on the island.
"When trainees first start they spend a couple of months on the road with a trainer and at the end of six months they will move onto Caboolture which is a bigger station," he said.
"Bribie Island is a good place to start training, although not as full-on as a bigger station, there is work to do here and trainees have the opportunity to learn a different range of skills.
"We have everything from operations on the water in Pumicestone Passage to working alongside Queensland Parks and Wildlife on the beach and in the national park and, of course, traffic operations on the road."
Recently 83 recruits were sworn in at the Queensland Police Service Academy.
Snr Sgt Crawford-Raby said he was happy with the Bribie station team and hoped they would continue to service the island well.
