Article: Gold Coast police begin operation to counter anti-social behaviour ...

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail click here!

Gold Coast police begin operation to counter anti-social behaviour on buses

Gold Coast police begin operation to counter anti-social behaviour on buses

    by: Greg Stolz
    From: The Courier-Mail
    December 12, 2011 3:33PM

POLICE have begun riding shotgun on Gold Coast buses to protect frightened drivers and passengers.

The move comes after a Surfside Buslines driver was allegedly bashed by a teen gang at Labrador last week. It was the 14th assault of a Coast bus driver this year, according to the Transport Workers Union.

Surfside has responded with a $1 million security crackdown, including hiring guards to ride buses.

They will be joined by undercover and uniformed police in a permanent blitz, codenamed Operation Caritas, unveiled today.

Gold Coast police acting district officer Superintendent Glenn Allen said the behaviour of some passengers was a concern and police had decided to act.

He said about a dozen officers at any one time would patrol bus transit centres and ride buses during peak periods to maintain safety.

The operation began at the weekend and although no arrests were made, Supt Allen said about 12 passengers were evicted from buses for misbehaviour.

Surfside bus driver Wayne Soanes said he had not had any problems with unruly passengers but drivers who felt 'intimidated' would welcome the police presence.

But Mr Soanes said he was not convinced the blitz would work, as passengers would simply misbehave on buses which did not have police.

"They'll pick their moments," he said.

"It's probably a good thing. It won't do any harm."

[O_128]

officers permanently stationed at nerang would go a long way as well due to certain groups of people having a fetish with hanging out there, maybe build a new police station there?

[SurfRail]

officers permanently stationed at nerang would go a long way as well due to certain groups of people having a fetish with hanging out there, maybe build a new police station there?

Nerang is not that bad.  Beenleigh is where the money should go...

[Set in train]

officers permanently stationed at nerang would go a long way as well due to certain groups of people having a fetish with hanging out there, maybe build a new police station there?

Nerang is not that bad.  Beenleigh is where the money should go...

I second SR's comment. Waited about 20mins at Nerang on Sunday mid-arv: fine. Dashed through the station near 10pm on Wednesday night: fine. Yet to see problems.

Beenleigh: wooooh weee, the amount of smelly people with social problems...

[ozbob]

http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/blog/2012/09/23/update-bus-damaged-burleigh-waters/

UPDATE Bus damaged, Burleigh Waters

UPDATE Bus damaged, Burleigh Waters
September 23, 2012 at 5:20 am

A 15-year-old local boy has been charged with wilful damage after a bus had a window smashed by a rock at Burleigh Waters yesterday morning.

Around 11.25am, a bus travelling along Reedy Creek Road had a side window smashed by a thrown rock, causing minor injuries to a 16-year-old female passenger.

The bus driver, a 47-year-old woman, was not injured.

The 15-year-old will be dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act 1992.

[ozbob]

From the Gold Coast Bulletin, 27 September 2012 page 9

Coast kids off the rails

Coast kids off the rails
MACKENZIE RAVN

GOLD Coast school students are making train travel a nightmare for other passengers, with one transport worker labelling the city's kids as the worst behaved in the state.

TransLink confirmed behaviour related incidents were common among youths with juveniles involved in more than 20 per cent of infringement notices handed out on trains on Gold Coast lines. However a Queensland Rail worker says the problem is much worse than authorities suspect.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said the afternoon Varsity Lakes to Brisbane Airport train line was one of the worst in the state. "Some of the customer service workers were told to go on the Gold Coast train to monitor school kids because there had been complaints from customers," she said. "These kids simply have no respect for authority. They leave rubbish and food scraps everywhere and are often rude to other customers."

The woman said the behaviour was a stark comparison to that of students in Brisbane. "A lot of the Gold Coast students put their feet up everywhere and make noise in quiet carriages but when you walk past they just stare at you, almost daring you to say something.

"Brisbane kids have none of that attitude. They might get a bit cheeky but when you tell them to pick up their rubbish they do it."

"When you tell some of the Gold Coast students to do anything just makes matters worse." However the problems are not limited to train travel with a Transport and Main Roads spokesman saying recent blitzes on buses targeting 30 Gold Coast schools found 311 out of 4300 children were travelling without a valid ticket.

TransLink was unable to provide similar statistics for trains but the Queensland Rail worker said she would not be surprised if the numbers were similar.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they don't have tickets because they know they can get away with it," she said."Transit officers can't throw school students off the train."

Gold Coast Police targeted fare evasion and anti-social behaviour by Gold Coast students on bus and rail routes with Operation Omnibus from July 11 to 18. During the operation 17,694 bus stops and 375 railway stations were patrolled, while 229 buses were boarded.

Education Queensland regional director Glen Hoppner said the department worked with schools to promote good behaviour.