Rosters and Skyfires – 11 March 2008
ACT Policing is just days into a new staff roster template which allows us to put more police on the road during identified peak periods including business hours and weekends. Since March 6, general duties officers have adopted a new 10-hour flexible shift, superseding the previous roster system which was predominately 12-hour rotations.
The 10-hour roster allows an overlapping of shifts during peak periods allowing us to strategically deploy a second team to a major incident, increase proactive patrols in an identified area or allow officers to follow-up enquiries or complete administrative demands such as appearances in court. We believe the new roster will allow police to provide a better service to the public.
This coming weekend brings the annual Skyfire fireworks display over Lake Burley Griffin.
At last year's Skyfire, police had to apprehend a number of juveniles for anti-social behaviour. Disturbingly, many of these youths – some as young as 13 years old -- were also intoxicated. The behaviour of these young people put themselves and others at risk.
While there will be a significant police presence at Skyfire this weekend, we would urge parents of teenagers to take the effort to find out where your children are, who they are staying with, and if they are safe.
A safe and secure community is a shared responsibility, and parent must play a role.