General News
26 May, 2026
Crime Stoppers’ decision under fire
OPPOSITION is growing over Queensland Crime Stoppers’ decision to discard all their volunteers, with Member for Cook David Kempton and Mareeba Shire Council joining forces to voicing criticism over the decision.
The FNQ Area volunteer group, the largest in the state, and all other Queensland units, will be replaced with up to 15 so-called ambassadors.
Addressing Parliament last week, Mr Kempton asked the Crime Stoppers board to “please explain” its decision to show volunteers the door, particularly in a week where Queensland celebrated National Volunteers Week.
“Crime Stoppers plays a critical role in the Cook community in the face of youth crime and anti-social behaviour,” he said.
“To dissolve the volunteer network now seems counterproductive.
“Volunteer members work tirelessly, travelling thousands of kilometres each year spreading the message of Crime Stoppers’ ‘safety where you live’ and providing support to victims of crime and connecting communities.
“No regional ambassador could possibly cover the 200,000sq km which is my electorate, attend the dozens of community events, foster the relationships, create community cohesion and give feedback to the central organisation as well as the 50 hardworking volunteers.”
His criticisms were echoed by Mareeba Council last week when it unanimously carried a motion put by Cr Mladen Bosnic that council “write to the Premier, the Minister for Police and the Crimestoppers board, expressing concern over the change in the structure and the treatment of volunteers, and that the decision be reconsidered”.
Cr Bosnic, who is chair of the 45-member local Crimestoppers committee, said the group was formed in 2019 because “Queensland police believed it was a network needed to cover the vast Cape”, and empower “everyday Queenslanders to anonymously report suspicious activity and help solve crimes”.
“This decision was ill conceived, and the fact that it was announced so close to the lead-up to Volunteers Week makes it even more deplorable,” he said.
There are roughly 351 Crime Stoppers volunteers in Queensland, and the decision had “effectively wiped out about 250 volunteers”.
Deputy Mayor Lenore Wyatt said the motion was very important, given “the times we are in at the moment”.
“We’re hearing about crime more often, and this (decision) just actually seems very confusing.”
She also asked where money raised by the unit ($134,000) would now go. It had been earmarked for a vehicle for the Crime Stoppers activities, but that had been vetoed by the board.
Cr Bosnic advised that the board has said it would “look to acquit the monies within the area it was raised”.
However, he had already begun talks with TMR about erecting signage at schools, and larger signs in the west and north of the Cape, as well as setting up auto recognition cameras if viable.
“So, if we go down, we will go down fighting,” Cr Bosnic said.
Mr Kempton had also questioned the what was happening with the funds raised by the FNQ unit, sending a strongly-worded letter to Crime Stoppers Queensland chair Ian Stewart asking why the board had refused a “compelling case” for the branch to buy a vehicle.
He suggested the board’s plan to do away with volunteers in preference to a digital model appeared to have had more to do with the vehicle decision than the merits of the purchase.
“Crime Stoppers have instilled confidence in the community by their presence at all major events including race days, rodeos, markets, shows, etc., where they deliver relevant and purposeful community safety messaging with volunteers also acting as a conduit between the communities of the Cook electorate, sharing knowledge, conversations and intelligence,” Mr Kempton said.
He invited Mr Stewart to come to Mareeba to meet with the 50-odd Crime Stoppers volunteers and explain to them the board’s decisions and reasoning.
Mr Kempton said that while he recognised that Crime Stoppers was an independent body, he would also be writing to the Minister for Police seeking his support in an effort to have the board reconsider its decision.
