Taskforce Guardian targets juvenile offenders in Cairns

The State Flying Squad has charged 29 people on 100 charges following a week-long operation targeting serious repeat juvenile offenders in Cairns.

Taskforce Guardian deployed to the Far North to join local specialist and general duties officers to engage with juvenile property offenders and support community safety initiatives.

The borderless nature of Taskforce Guardian allows the dedicated team of police and youth justice workers to deploy any time, where support is needed most.

Over the seven days, Taskforce Guardian officers in conjunction with Cairns Police conducted engagements including street checks, bail checks, breaches of bail and warrants.

A total of 29 juveniles were charged with 100 offences, consisting mostly of property crimes such as burglary, robbery and assault unlawful use of a motor vehicle, break and enters.

Along with the Cairns Youth Co-responder Team, Taskforce Guardian officers also engaged with numerous young people in a positive manner over the 7-day operation.

Acting Inspector Jason Chetham said the new rapid-response arm of the State Flying Squad has greatly assisted in the region by providing immediate additional support to disrupt youth offending.

“These results are really strong for seven days of activity and we look forward to this support when required in future as well,” Acting Inspector Chetham said.

Taskforce Guardian is a surge response team bringing together detectives and expert Youth Justice workers, deployed to assist local police efforts in targeting and disrupting the high-end offenders in hotspot locations.

The Taskforce also works with key support services and local resources to engage at-risk youth with relevant programs; focusing on health, education, disability services and First Nations initiatives.