Fake Australian policeman's one-man war on crime

A Cairns man has pleaded guilty to dressing up as a fake policeman, rushing to the scene of accidents and deterring crime on buses, saying he just wanted to protect the city from criminals. But the crime-fighting days of Mark Allan Grant, 32, came to an abrupt end yesterday when he admitted to impersonating a police officer by regularly wearing an Australian Federal Police shirt and fake cap in public.

Outside court, Grant said he believed he was doing the city a favour. He said the items of official police clothing were "souvenirs". "The only reason I go out on the bus with my mate dressed up in a police uniform is just there’s a lot of fights and just so I can quieten it down a bit," he said. Grant also said he owned equipment such as a police scanner "for the fun of it".



The court heard Grant listened to the police scanner regularly and when he overheard an incident was in progress he would change into an Australian Federal Police shirt and child-sized cap and rush to the scene. Grant was spotted at a Grafton St accident on November 2, directing traffic around the scene of an alleged hit-and-run involving an off-duty police officer. He would also sit on buses in his pretend uniform, believing a police presence could prevent violence breaking out. Police charged the man after they found him sitting outside Cairns Central on November 11 in his fake AFP uniform.

Defence solicitor Jefferson Mobbs said his client had no mental health issues but was "a simple man". However, Magistrate Joe Pinder labelled the man’s conduct "most unusual", and insisted more evidence be presented to the court in relation to his mental health before the case could proceed. He asked if Grant had any family members who could confirm he did not have psychiatric issues before adjourning the case to February 7.