In November 1985, the Queensland Police created the first Casino Crime Squad in Australia. The Squad was set up at the Conrad International Hotel and Jupiters Casino at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, and consisted of a Detective Sergeant 1/c in charge with a staff of three detectives. The Squad operated from offices within the Casino conducting electronic surveillance of suspects through the network of video cameras installed in and around the hotel and casino. Video surveillance utilised by the Squad led to the successful prosecution for illegal acts which otherwise would have been hard to discern by the untrained eye.
The Casino Squad worked under, and enforced, the Casino Control Act 1982, keeping a close watch over staff and management ensuring integrity of operations. It also worked in close operation with other specialist police squads, local plain clothes, uniformed police, assisted Federal Police and casino management in the protection of visiting VIPs on a number of occasions. More so, the mobility of the specialised unit guaranteed a reduction in the number of car thefts and theft and damage to motor vehicles in the vicinity of the casino.
Casino Crime Squad, 1997. Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
The small team of detectives monitored a vast number of hotel and casino guests and visitors. The complex comprised of a 622 room hotel, 100-plus table casino, convention venue and entertainment complex. A survey carried out in 1986 showed that on a given off-peak season Saturday, 23,000 people were recorded visiting the Casino. During the first year of its operation, beginning November, 1985, the Squad arrested 32 persons on 328 charges, involving forging and uttering, stealing, wilful damage, fraud and drugs, and administering stupefying drugs with intent; one man was subsequently charged with 278 offences. Two individuals were extradited from New South Wales to appear on charges of armed robbery.
The December issue of the Daily Sun reported that ‘highly-trained international gangs would try to cheat Jupiter’s Casino out of millions of dollars’. According to the newspaper, a former executive director of the New Jersey gaming enforcement division detailed the state had lost more than $3,000,000US to poker machine rip-offs alone and warned Jupiter’s video machines were vulnerable to sophisticated thieves, while the gaming tables could fall victims to cheats. Within months a man, whose name was not disclosed, was identified by the Casino Crime Squad as a member of an international gang of casino cheats which travelled widely for criminal purposes. A warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest.
Jupiters Casino, aerial shot taken c1985. Image courtesy of the Centre for the Government of Queensland.
New Jersey police lieutenant Steve Geraldo said cheats were learning to beat machine technology straight out of school. Some American casinos had systems allowing police to investigate jackpot winners almost immediately, he said. However, Deputy Premier Mr Gunn said he was confident Jupiter’s was ready to take on the cheats. (Daily Sun, 5 December, 1985.)
Currently, out of the four hotel and casinos in operation in Queensland, Jupiters Hotel and Casino continues to see the highest number of offences committed under the Queensland Casino Control Act.
____________________
This information has been provided by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available. The article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova.
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – Jupiter’s ready to take on the cheats” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode