One in five allegations about Queensland police failures in responding to domestic violence complaints were investigated by officers working at the same station or work group, a commission of inquiry has heard.
The inquiry was told of 126 “failure of duty” allegations against the Queensland police service (QPS) recorded in the year to 30 May. Of those, 26 were investigated by an officer in the same station or work group, while 20 allegations were examined by someone of the same or lesser rank, the inquiry heard.
The statistics were provided to the independent commission of inquiry into police responses to domestic violence, which held its final day of public hearings in Mount Isa on Tuesday.
Over five weeks of hearings, the inquiry has heard a number of allegations regarding police failures toward domestic violence victims, as well as claims of officers holding “misogynistic” and “racist” attitudes.
The inquiry has also heard concerns about police investigating other officers, with the state’s corruption watchdog regularly referring matters back to Queensland police to deal with and investigating less than 1% of complaints.
Cheryl Scanlon, the officer in charge of the police ethical standards command, said on Friday that QPS had made 38 DV orders against its members in the first six months of this year and 15 private applications had also been made.
One officer who was charged with domestic and sexual violence allegedly breached a domestic violence order 33 minutes after being served with a copy of it, the inquiry heard.
The officer was suspended without pay, with his disciplinary history indicating he was the subject of 17 previous complaints including assault, sexual misconduct and improper use of government resources, the inquiry heard.
Another officer is still employed with Queensland police despite accessing police records in attempts to locate the domestic violence shelter where his wife and children were staying after she complained about him, Scanlon told the inquiry.
The officer also plead guilty to breaching a temporary protection order.
Prior to these events, the same officer had been asked to investigate a traffic complaint that a member of the public had made about his own conduct, the inquiry heard.
Scanlon acknowledged the QPS could do better but said the incidents were not a common occurrence.
“Could we pick up some of these things earlier? I daresay we could have and should have,” she said. “It is not something you can expect you won’t see in our organisation, given the size of it.”
The inquiry is expected to hand down its final report on 4 October.
However, the decision not to ask the police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, to give evidence has been labelled “inexplicable” and a “missed opportunity” by experts and advocates.
Guardian Australia understands the inquiry also did not ask the police minister, Mark Ryan, and the president of the Queensland police union, Ian Leavers, to give evidence in person.
In a written statement to the inquiry, Leavers insisted there was “no widespread cultural problem” in how Queensland police respond to domestic violence incidents.
In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
