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impressed with the calibre of the
Queensland officers.
“In my experience police are ‘can do’
folk, and stepping across the border
hasn’t changed my mind about that. The
Queensland Police Service is a professional
outfit – their officers were exceptionally
focussed on helping the community
recover. It has been great to be able to help
them with this task.”
Snr Cst Carl Atkins from Hawkesbury
LAC was sent up with the first contingent
and was posted to Goodna alongside Qld
Cst Luke Hanlon.
“It was pretty intense,” he said. “The
flood had already gone through and we
were on patrol for looting. The mess was
awful. There were huge piles of garbage
everywhere, which were mostly household
items being thrown out.
“I didn’t see any looting. Many people
were picking up whitegoods and other big
items that had already been thrown out;
we just made sure they had permission.
Basically we let the community know we
were there.
“Policing in Queensland is very similar
to NSW. They have different systems, but
they’re the same people as us. It was just
like taking a shift in any police station in
NSW.”
Another disaster looming
While the flood clean up continued and
as the last of the NSW contingent came
home on Sunday 6 February, hundreds of
Queensland police were seconded to North
Queensland to assist those impacted by
tropical cyclone Yasi.
DCOP visit troops interstate
Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn
who was Acting Commissioner at the time,
visited the NSW troops in Queensland
to thank them for their efforts. She
said Queensland Police Commissioner
Atkinson was totally appreciative of every
NSW officer. “It was a very proud moment
for me,” she said.
Acting Commissioner said there was
no shortage of NSW police who wanted to
volunteer.
Much of the action was reported on YouTube
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“I wasn’t surprised by their enthusiasm;
our police wanted to help right from the
beginning. They worked extremely hard
and did us proud. We’re able to show once
again that the NSWPF is more than willing
to help a community recover from disaster.”
A cameraman from Public Affairs Branch filmed much of the action as it happened,
for reporting on our YouTube channel. Rob Stewart from our Multimedia Unit posted
interviews with senior police, including Acting Commissioner Catherine Burn;
vision of the officers arriving and being inducted as special constables; and footage
of them on patrol and volunteering for clean up duty. Find the NSW Police Force
Channel by clicking the YouTube button at the bottom of the NSW Police Website.
FEBRUARY 2011 / police monthly 7