Three people have been shot dead in the tourist spot in less than two months. The Queensland Police Union warned organised crime was spilling out onto the streets and public safety was a real concern.
"Without doubt the Gold Coast has cemented itself as the crime capital of Australia and unless we get a rapid injection of 100 to 150 staff on the Gold Coast we're in trouble," QPU president Ian Leavers said.
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He made the comments after the latest fatal shooting - a man known to police who died in one of the Gold Coast's busiest streets early on Wednesday. Mr Leavers said there was a lot of firerarms and drugs about in the area and problems were escalating fast.
Despite the recent spate of gun crime, Mr Leavers expects his call for a dramatic boost to policing on the Gold Coast to go unheeded.
He said the government was only planning to provide an 150 police for the entire state over the next year.
"The Gold Coast will be lucky to get 20," he said. "We know there are many organised crime gangs operating on the Gold Coast which are being left untouched because police are just too busy responding to reported crime."
"I've heard the police service and the minister say it's only organised crime, and ordinary people shouldn't be concerned.
"But it's spilling out into the streets and the suburbs now, and it's only a matter of time before an innocent person gets injured or killed."
Deputy Premier Paul Lucas insisted the tourist mecca was safe, and linked recent events to organised crime.
