Canberra's top cop has revealed details of the coordinated police response to the theft of a car with a seven-month-old baby inside, and how officers flooded ACT roads in search of the missing boy.
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ACT Chief Police Office Rudi Lammers said the Thursday search for a stolen Mazda 323 Protégé involved road blocks on all routes out of Canberra. Police called in all available patrol cars, a helicopter and cooperation from New South Wales Police.
"Certainly where there is an imminent risk of danger and in this case to the seven-month-old baby boy, we moved very quickly to make sure that all of Canberra is blocked off," he said.
He said the operation had been intense and coordinated throughout.
"We made sure that every exit out of Canberra was blocked," he said.
"We had a helicopter in the air and we had surveillance throughout all of Canberra.
"We started from the point where that incident happened and we moved out using various perimeters until we were satisfied that the vehicle and the suspect was not there."
Police put out the call for help through the media and social media, and a member of the public provided the crucial tip off that led them to the missing child.
He said more than 90,000 people used the ACT Policing Facebook page to share information in the operation's first hour.
The number had risen to more than 130,000 by 5am on Friday.
Assistant Commissioner Lammers said the car appeared to have been involved in an accident and was missing its bonnet when police found it at a home in Palmerston.
The baby boy was found in a capsule on the home's porch.
"It was after that the baby was left on the doorstep so this may well could have had a tragic ending and we’re very thankful that it ended the way it did," he said.
But the police operation did not end there. The man who stole the car was still at large.
Police continued their search and issued a renewed warning to the public, with a detailed description of the man.
Anyone who encountered the suspect was warned not to approach him.
The operation shifted focus when officers were called to Jamison shops after a report of an armed robbery by a man matching the description of the offender.
Assistant Commissioner Lammers said the search was intensified in the immediate vicinity of the shops and continued for about an hour.
Officers found the man they believed was responsible a short time later, driving in Mayo Street, Weetangera.
A 27-year-old Belconnen man, who was known to police, was arrested and is expected to face court on Friday, charged over his suspected involvement in the incident and in relation to other matters.
Emergency Services Minister Simon Corbell congratulated emergency services staff involved in the search.
"I'd also like to put on the record my thanks to ACT Policing for the very good work they have done in the last 24 hours.
"We saw a fantastic response... a great surge in capability right across the city with people being pulled off from jobs other than uniform duties to assist. That did demonstrate the strong response we get from ACT Policing in these circumstances.
"What is particularly comforting as well is the response from the Canberra community, a very high level of awareness across the city very quickly and that certainly assisted police in resolving this incident."
