General News
30 January, 2026
Train ‘em up
A CAIRNS security guard has called for expanded mentoring, training programs and employment pathways for young people, saying long-term prevention is critical to addressing crime and violence in the city’s western suburbs.
Dan Collins said structured work programs previously delivered strong outcomes and should be reinstated as a matter of priority.
“I used to work on the community renewal project here in West Cairns. About 20 years ago, we had lots of young people on horticulture certificates and I was training them on the job,” Mr Collins said.
“And that needs to come back all around these western suburbs.”
Mr Collins said the programs provided structure, accountability and practical skills for young people who were otherwise disengaged.
He said employment pathways should not be limited to one industry and could be expanded across a wide range of sectors. “Not just horticulture, the gardens, the revegetation of the forest around here, stabilisation of the creeks, but it can go into everything, lots of different trades, even right through to hairdressing,” he said.
Mr Collins said a large-scale rollout of traineeships was needed to divert young people away from criminal activity and gang involvement.
“We need a big rollout of these traineeships,” he said.
“And they either do it or they get their dollars cut off.”
He said the lack of meaningful engagement was contributing to antisocial behaviour.
“We need to snap them out of this business of just wandering around the streets, drug dealing, rolling people, getting into gangs,” Mr Collins said.
He said he would be willing to return to a training role if programs were reintroduced.
“I’ll be happy to be a trainer again,” he said.
“If, that’s what it takes.”
Mr Collins also raised concerns about current security guard training standards, saying the system prioritised speed and numbers over preparedness.
“The problem is that the courses, and I love the guys who teach the courses, but the courses are just flick through courses, they are so fast that they just want as many security guards as they can find,” he said.
“And a lot of them (trainee security guards), they’re just not up to it.”
Mr Collins said frontline security workers were often placed in high-risk situations without adequate authority or protection.
“We need to prioritise quality over quantity,” he said.
He said expanding the powers available to guards would improve safety and professionalism.
“Give them more rights like battens and cuffs and stun guns, handheld stun guns,” Mr Collins said.
He said the most positive moments in his role came when he assisted people in life-threatening situations.
“All the happy things are just when you do save someone like last night (someone was severely injured in a gang attack) or the guy that had a stroke in a bar last month,” he said.
“When you’re the result of people surviving these kinds of attacks and these kinds of incidents, that does make it worthwhile.”
He said those moments provided motivation despite the job’s challenges.
Mr Collins again criticised local leadership, saying he believed community safety was not being given sufficient attention.
