January 17, 2025
A three-day police operation in the South Burnett has resulted in six people charged with more than 50 charges, including property, drug and weapons offences as well as anti-social behaviour.
Between January 7-9, police executed several search warrants, checked compliance with bail conditions, and did street checks in Kingaroy.
This resulted in six people charged with a total of 53 charges, including possession of dangerous drugs, trespass, enter premises and commit, enter premises/attempt enter premises, unlawful possession of a weapon, fraud/attempted fraud, possessing property suspected of being stolen, and possessing property obtained from trafficking/supplying.
The crackdown was part of Operation Xray Lionrock which police say will run throughout this year in the Darling Downs Police District (which includes all the South Burnett).
A police spokesperson said Operation Xray Lionrock aims to enhance community safety through a series of short deployments throughout the district, involving crime prevention and disruption activities, high-visibility patrols targeting crime hot spots and high-risk offenders, road safety initiatives, bail compliance and community engagement.
Local police will work closely with specialist police units such as Tactical Crime Squad, Child Protection and Investigation Unit, the Youth Co-Responder Team, Dog Squad, Highway Patrol and local detectives to co-ordinate targeted operations aimed to disrupt, prevent and investigate crime.
Darling Downs District Officer Superintendent Doug McDonald said the recent operation in Kingaroy had combined local knowledge with expert resources and specialist police.
“By looking at crime from every angle, we will disrupt crime and we will catch up with those who commit crime and threaten the safety of our community,” Supt McDonald said.
Operation Xray Lionrock followed the a month-long operation over Christmas which led to police charging 75 people in the South Burnett with 185 charges.
As well, four serious juvenile offenders were arrested at Cherbourg.
Supt McDonald said officers have also adopted community engagement strategies to help enhance policing efforts in the region.
“To assist in our ongoing efforts, we have deployed Mobile Police Beats in Wondai and Murgon over the past month and have also conducted community engagement activities in Kingaroy which has been widely welcomed by the community,” he said.
“High visibility policing is a significant contributing factor to disrupting and deterring criminal activity while also increasing feelings of safety in the community, and we are committed to ensuring that continues.”
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Superintendent McDonald held a media conference on Friday morning about the police response to the recent spike of crime in the South Burnett.
Unfortunately, the conference was held in Toowoomba but police have supplied an audio file (raw file, below).
During the 20-minute interview, Superintendent McDonald discusses the recent incidents, the use of social media, what can be done to address juvenile offending and the importance of always locking up.
NB. The questions from the reporters at the conference can be difficult to hear, but we believe Supt McDonald’s answers are self-explanatory.
Very disappointed that this was held in Toowoomba and not in South Burnett.
When will the stolen car that has been dumped in the ditch at the entrance to Kingaroy near Swickers be removed? It’s been there for many days, is not a good look and backs up the recent piece on A Current Affair of how bad the town has become.