{"id":182790,"date":"2017-06-30T01:59:48","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T15:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=182790"},"modified":"2020-08-27T18:22:59","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T08:22:59","slug":"police-unveil-8-3m-kingaroy-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/06\/30\/police-unveil-8-3m-kingaroy-station\/","title":{"rendered":"Police Unveil $8.3m Kingaroy Station"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell, Deputy Opposition Leader and Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington and Assistant Commissioner Tony Wright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Edna and John Bastable, from Kingaroy … John was Officer-in-Charge at the old Kingaroy Police Station from 1989-97\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 30, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the station cat came crashing through the ceiling on to an unsuspecting police officer below, it became obvious to everyone that the old Kingaroy Police Station was well past its use-by date.<\/p>\n

A new $8.3 million police station, which stands like a battleship on the corner of Alford and Short streets, has been operating for several months now but that didn’t take anything away from the excitement at the official opening ceremony on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

Guests included serving and retired police officers and emergency services representatives who enjoyed morning tea and a tour of the station.<\/p>\n

Police Minister Mark Ryan and Police Commissioner Ian Stewart travelled to Kingaroy for the event, but cheekily it was actually local MP Deb Frecklington who unveiled the plaque.<\/p>\n

Mrs Frecklington said the station was an important boost for the region and a proud moment for the South Burnett.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She said a new police station had been one of her first priorities when she was elected as the local Member.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe old police station was built in the 1960s and was no longer functional, appropriate or safe for the town,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was working as a solicitor, I had first-hand experience of the problems faced on a daily basis by our local police officers. Local solicitors had to interview clients in the breezeway between the police station and the cells.<\/p>\n

“The sub-standard facilities also included non-flushing toilets for male police officers.”<\/p>\n

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the new police station was a magnificent building compared with the “patchwork” collection which made up the old facility.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The community expect their police to be well-equipped, have good leadership and have good facilities,” he said.<\/p>\n

“When we support our police with the best resources, we get the best community outcomes.”<\/p>\n

Assistant Commissioner Tony Wright described the old station as a “rat-infested, termite-eaten building”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“When the adopted station cat fell through the ceiling … we knew something had to be done!”<\/p>\n

(Assistant Commissioner Wright assured listeners that no cats or police officers were injured during the dramatic incident.)<\/p>\n

Policing in Kingaroy dates back to 1907 when police operated out of a railway carriage.<\/p>\n

During construction of the new building, several hints from those early days were uncovered, including horse shoes and part of a water trough.<\/p>\n

The new station houses 33 staff, including 30 police officers and three administration officers.<\/p>\n

As well as uniformed officers, the station also has facilities for Kingaroy CIB detectives and the\u00a0Major and Organised Crime Squad – Rural (probably better known as the Stock Squad or SARCIS). Scenes of Crime forensic officers have their own expanded facility.<\/p>\n

Police Minister Ryan said the new police station would enhance frontline policing and contribute to a safer community.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cKingaroy police have consistently delivered a high level of service to the community and it is my hope this new station and watchhouse will further encourage the continuation of this service into the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, Police Minister Mark Ryan, Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington, Member for Maranoa David Littleproud and South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The new Kingaroy Police Station dominates the corner of Alford and Short streets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Acting Officer-in-Charge of Kingaroy Police, Acting Senior Sergeant Scott Prendergast, cut the cake watched by members of the official party, from left,\u00a0Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell, Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington and\u00a0Assistant Commissioner Tony Wright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The nerve centre of the new police station is the Duty Sergeant’s desk … many of the electronic safety features of the building can be controlled from this work station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The desks and storage lockers for the general duties police officers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
What you don’t want to see … the door to one of the watchhouse cells; the watchhouse is integrated into the new police station building\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Inside a watchhouse cell … the spartan design is practical but also aims to be safe for the person in custody\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the station cat came crashing through the ceiling on to an unsuspecting police officer below, it became obvious to everyone that the old Kingaroy Police Station was well past its use-by date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":182792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,3,24],"tags":[1132],"yoast_head":"\nPolice Unveil $8.3m Kingaroy Station - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When the station cat came crashing through the ceiling on to an unsuspecting police officer below, it became obvious to everyone that the old Kingaroy Police Station was well past its use-by date.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/06\/30\/police-unveil-8-3m-kingaroy-station\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Police Unveil $8.3m Kingaroy Station - 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