What we learned from the commission of inquiry report into QPS responses to domestic violence
Before we end the blog, let’s go through the big moments from this afternoon:
Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, addressed the media, calling the inquiry’s report “raw and confronting”.
Palaszczuk announced that cabinet supported all 78 recommendations in principle.
The Queensland attorney general, Shannon Fentiman, addressed the victim-survivors who came forward – saying they were heard, they were believed and now the government was taking action.
Palaszczuk said if an officer was racist or sexist, they had no role working in QPS
The QPS commissioner, Katarina Carroll, defended her ability to implement the reforms and said the responsibility of changing the culture lay with her.
The deputy commissioner, Steve Gollschewski, responded to criticism of his treatment of First Nations officers, saying he had the “utmost respect for all First Nations people”.
The report found that QPS’s “broken” internal complaints system allowed discrimination to go unchecked.
The report also recommended that every QPS district should have 24/7 domestic and family violence vulnerable persons units.
The head of the state’s women’s legal service, Nadia Bromley, says she hopes QPS report will “shock” Queensland into action.
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Carroll’s statement continues:
We are now aware of incidents where it had little influence on changing behaviours of individuals and maintaining the high standard of conduct that I expect of those within the organisation.
As the Commissioner, this ultimately stops with me. I will not accept bad behaviour or stand by those who do not meet the standard expected of them. We have already made changes within our LMR system to ensure we can hold members accountable for their actions.
As I have said a number of times, a line in the sand has been drawn.
I have always been intent on enacting strong reform and today, I have a renewed focus on what needs to be done to restore trust and create a workplace where people can have their voices heard.
The recommendations are an opportunity for us to learn, grow and do better.
Today, I have spoken to the Premier who has expressed her confidence in me to lead this reform. I am 100 per cent committed to seeing this reform through, working through these recommendations, and delivering on the intent of the outcomes of this report.
I have a strong history in reform and already we have begun this journey to enhance the QPS.
A Special Coordinator for Police Reform will be established to lead and manage the various reform and transformational programs, and Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski has been appointed to this role.
I have engaged Julie McKay and her specialist team from PricewaterhouseCoopers to support us in this work.
Next week I will join with more than 100 senior leaders from across the QPS to set my expectations of how we will enhance our organisation. We have good leaders at all levels of the organisation who are committed to improving the QPS.
With the release of this report, I expect more questions to be raised and approaches to be made to the media.
The cases that are known to us are either already being finalised or under investigation.
To maintain the integrity of our system, we will not comment on individual cases. This is so those who are part of the complaint are afforded privacy and natural justice and so those within our organisation can be confident to come forward.
I encourage individuals to either contact us or the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) to have their claims investigated.
Police are called to relationships in crisis, at a time when help and support is needed most.
Each one of us takes an oath to protect and serve our community.
Today we will do better than we did yesterday and tomorrow we will do better than we did today.
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'The report is a very difficult read': QPS commissioner releases statement
The QPS commissioner, Katarina Carroll, also put out a statement. Below is the first part of the statement:
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) welcomes today’s release of the Commission of Inquiry’s report into the QPS’ culture and its effect on how we respond to domestic and family violence.
The report is a very difficult read and presents many examples where we should have done better for our community and our own people.
I acknowledge these issues and how they have affected the way we interact with the most vulnerable people in our community. For those who have experienced this, I am deeply sorry.
There have been some examples of racism, misogyny and sexist behaviour which is not acceptable in our community – and even less acceptable from our police. Our police are our community, but we will rightly be held to a higher standard.
This has been an incredibly difficult time for the good people in our organisation.
There are 17,500 members of the QPS, and I stand by the thousands of officers in my organisation who make a difference each and every day in the lives of those they interact with.
To our police who do their best for their communities every day – through these recommendations and nation-leading reforms, you will be even better supported to respond to domestic and family violence.
The Government’s announcement of an initial $100 million of extra funding will help ensure we have the resourcing and assistance we need to improve our responses. Reform is difficult and takes a long time, but this will accelerate it.
The initial additional resourcing will see funding provided for, among other things, strengthening the resourcing of our Domestic and Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Command, rolling out additional permanent and dedicated DFV Coordinators, embedding DFV support workers in police stations, establishing additional DFV Vulnerable Persons Units with embedded DFV support workers, and rolling out Victim Liaison Officers, DFV Liaison Officers, and Cultural Liaison Officers across the State.
From the Commission of Inquiry, we also learned of times where a key part of our disciplinary system – the Local Managerial Resolution (LMR) – has not been effective.
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Indigenous QPS officer who resigned over unchecked racism says leadership overhaul needed
An Indigenous officer who resigned after 26 years in the Queensland police service, after attempts to address racism in the organisation left him “broken”, says “transformative and genuine reforms” to the police can only be realised through an “overhaul of [its] leadership”.
“We have a leadership that perpetuates the system, and until such time as we get a diversity of perspectives and individuals and views and lenses of the people that sit in those decision-making positions, we’re not going to see genuine change,” Richard Monaei said.
“The leadership needs to be reflective of the diversity that we see in our community.”
Monaei’s resignation letter was read aloud at the inquiry into QPS responses to domestic and family violence last month.
On Monday, he said he had little confidence in the report’s calls for better engagement with First Nations people, given he had seen similar calls being used as “smokescreens” over his nearly three decades in the force.
“In my experience, the organisation is tone deaf when it comes to genuine, authentic and purposeful engagement,” he said.
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Head of women’s legal service hopes QPS report will ‘shock’ Queensland into action
The head of Women’s Legal Service Queensland, Nadia Bromley, says she hopes the “troubling but not surprising” evidence of racism and sexism within the state’s police force will “shock” the state into action.
Bromley welcomed the fact that the 78 recommendations of the independent commission of inquiry into Queensland police service responses were “timebound” with deadlines of up to 18 months, meaning that, unlike previous inquiries, this would “really allow the government to be held to account”.
“The women of Queensland deserve better and I hope that everyone who reads this report is shocked into action, into believing the women and their stories,” she said.
“Because I suppose some people found it hard to believe that this was a reality, but we can now see, in black and white, that this is what is happening to women all around our state.”
Bromley described the report’s recommendation that all police stations designate a private, safe and secure area for all persons presenting for domestic and family violence matters as “positive but disturbing”.
“How have we come to a place where we need an independent commission to provide a safe space for people to make complaints in police stations?”
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Every QPS district should have 24/7 domestic and family violence vulnerable persons units, report says
The Queensland police service should set up domestic and family violence vulnerable persons units within every district within 18 months, an inquiry into QPS responses to domestic and family violence has found.
The recommendation is one of 78 made in a final report released on Monday afternoon.
The new units should be maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week, have an on-call response capability and include high-risk team members, domestic and family violence coordinators, detectives to investigate domestic and family violence occurrences, and, “where practicable”, domestic and family violence support workers from community organisations.
The recommendation is part of the structural change the report recommends for the QPS.
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QPS’s ‘broken’ internal complaints system allowed discrimination to go unchecked, report finds
A “broken” internal complaints system where “police investigate police” within the Queensland police service has allowed sexism, misogyny, racism and systemic bullying to fester unchecked.
This was among the findings of an inquiry into QPS responses to domestic and family violence led by Judge Deborah Richards which handed down its final report this afternoon.
The inquiry found that racism was “a significant problem” within the QPS, and the First Nations people within the ranks were exposed to unfair and discriminatory behaviours.
But a “culture of fear and silence” in the QPS meant racism within its ranks was
“likely to be underreported”.
Sexist and misogynistic conduct was also being underreported due to the overwhelming use of Local Management Resolution in addressing complaints of this nature.
This relied on “word against word” and meant complaints were “almost inevitably written off as unsubstantiated” and left QPS members feeling there was “little point in making a complaint”.
“A disciplinary system where police investigate police, who are sometimes friends and workmates, simply does not result in a fair system,” the report found.
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Deputy commissioner responds to criticism of his treatment of First Nations officers
The deputy commissioner, Steve Gollschewski, is up now. He is asked how he responds to the criticism of how he treats First Nations officers.
I want to address that. First thing I want to say about that is that I have the utmost respect, utmost respect, for all First Nations people and in particular, every member of the First Nations reference group.
I got involved with that at the request of Commissioner Carroll … and can I remind everyone that it is because Commissioner Carroll saw it as a priority. We recognise we need to be better in that space.
Gollschewski says media articles about his conduct are inaccurate.
I understand there is no formal complaint against me.
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The QPS commissioner, Katarina Carroll, was asked what she would say to women considering a role in the police force, given the misogynistic things tabled in the report:
I was subjected to those things. It’s demeaning and unacceptable.
The organisation has gotten better at dealing with these issues. But I would say to young women: have confidence to join what is an amazing organisation.
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Carroll has been asked about morale:
The workforce is tired, the workforce is fatigued, the workforce was under extraordinary stress going in to responding to Covid.
She says the funding will help them respond better to DV cases and the trial of working with social workers has been “exceptionally successful”.
Caroll says the funding means they will be able to deliver the reforms:
I love that it’s got tight timeframes, but it has to come with funding. It’s got to come with capacity, otherwise it can’t happen. Because it has, I am very confident that will happen.
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Carroll says she already did one review into the First Nations unit and found they were struggling “in terms of capability”.
She is asked about how many officers might lose their jobs.
I’ve got to be really mindful, using the law properly and for what it’s intended for. I need to get advice all along the line and I want to make sure that, when I take this forward, that it will be successful.
She said people are afforded natural justice and that it takes time to build a case.
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Carroll says one officer will be served with a notice to say he is unsuitable for the force. She says she is reviewing several other cases, too.
She says the majority of people in the force are good, but that the people they serve have been let down.
It’s hard. It’s really hard. And we have let people down.
Carroll is asked if she acknowledges that when people are let down in DV policing, they can lose their lives.
We have seen that, and I think that’s the worst outcome, and we need to do better.
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Carroll says for the last three years, the DV training has been online.
Throughout the last three years, most of the training has been online which is not ideal. But we couldn’t do it any other way.
A three-day training that has been rolled out – it is expected thousands of officers have already completed that, and the [entire] workforce will by mid-next year. The five-day specialist training course will also start this month and be … completed by next year.
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Carroll says the reform has been stifled by the pandemic but it will now pick up in earnest.
It’s certainly not an excuse, but certainly a challenge, that when I came into the organisation and conducted the review, we found there was extraordinary capacity issues – that we needed more staffing, that demand was increasing. Before we even started implementing them, we were hit with the world pandemic.
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Carroll is asked if anyone in leadership positions will lose their jobs.
She said there will be a restructuring, but that many are there for the right reasons.
Most leaders are there for the right reasons and the right intent. You have seen them: that leadership throughout the pandemic, and leadership throughout natural disasters, and leaders leading their districts and commands.
Carroll says she is the right person to lead the reform.
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Katarina Carroll says she has a strong history of reform and has begun “in earnest” to enhance the QPS.
She says she will not comment on individual cases.
I have an extensive history of reform. It’s on the record. The premier knows that, as does the minister, as does cabinet, whose support I have. I have commenced in earnest.
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Carroll says the responsibility of changing the culture lies with her.
The recommendations are an opportunity for us to learn, grow, and do better.
I’m 100% committed to seeing this reform through, working with these recommendations and delivering on the intent of the outcomes of this report.
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Carroll says there are thousands of officers who make a good difference in their work:
This has been an incredibly difficult time for the good people in our organisation.
To our police who do their best for their communities every day. Through these recommendations and reforms, you will be even better supported to respond to domestic and family violence.
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QPS commissioner Katarina Carroll speaks to media
The QPS commissioner, Katarina Carroll, is up now.
The Queensland police service welcomed today’s release of the commission of inquiry’s report into the QPS’s culture and its effect on how we respond to domestic and family violence.
The report is a very, very difficult read and presents many instances where we should have done better for the community, and our own people.
I acknowledge these issues and how they have affected the way we interact with the most vulnerable people in our community.
For those who have experienced this, I’m deeply sorry.
There are examples of racism and misogyny and sexist behaviour which is not acceptable in our community.
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The Queensland police service has been plagued by a “failure of leadership” that has enabled misogyny and sexism “to be expressed, and at times acted upon, largely unchecked”, an inquiry into QPS responses to domestic and family violence has found.
Judge Deborah Richards found that complaints into that culture had been “brushed aside or dealt with in the most minor of ways” and those within the force who raised the complaints were “the ones who are shunned and punished”.
The inquiry found both cultural and structural change was needed to reform the force, but that, if the QPS was to improve, police senior leadership must “hear and acknowledge the voices of its people who feel abandoned, disillusioned and silenced”.
“It is unlikely that present and future commitments by the leadership to improving police responses to domestic and family violence will be effective unless it does so,” Richards wrote in the report’s forward.
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The QPS commissioner, Katarina Carroll, is expected to address the media in a few minutes – I will bring you that as soon as she is up.
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Report recommends civilian-led integrity unit to handle complaints about QPS
A civilian-led police integrity unity should be established within 18 months to handle complaints made about the Queensland police service and protect whistleblowers, an inquiry into QPS responses to domestic and family violence has found.
This was one of 78 recommendations made in the inquiry’s final report released at 2pm local time.
The inquiry recommends the proposed watchdog be an independent and separate unit of the crime and corruption commission and should “transition to a predominately civilianised model as soon as possible”, including being led by a civilian senior executive office.
The integrity unit should also: provide whistleblower protections; include a victim advocate; include identified positions for First Nations staff in the intake and victim advocacy teams; and publicly report all activities and outcomes annually.
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While the press conference was under way, my colleague Joe Hinchliffe started going through the report.
He’s been pulling out the big recommendations – I will bring you those now.
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Palaszczuk ends the press conference with this line:
Let me say very clearly: I expect the reforms to be implemented very, very clearly.
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Palaszczuk: If you are racist or sexist, you have no role working in QPS
Palaszczuk is asked about certain police officers who are named in the report who will not lose their jobs:
I’m not just gonna comment off the cuff yes or no … as there are hundreds of cases in the report, with all due respect.
She says the report sets out the mechanism of how to deal with complaints in the future.
If you are racist or sexist, you have no role working in the Queensland police service.
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Palaszczuk is asked about the commissioner Katarina Carroll’s leadership and if she is the right person for the job. She says there are no recommendations made about the senior leadership group:
Well, the commissioner has made it very clear to me that she is up to implement these recommendations. She has given me her word.
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Ryan:
There are a lot of good people in the Queensland Police Service. So what we what we have here is a roadmap to improving the system so that those good people in the Queensland Police Service can continue to do good work, obviously having the community map to support them, as well as it is a roadmap to support better domestic and family violence [response].
Ryan is asked about funding for police personnel. He says there is funding for about 300 support workers, some cultural liaison officers, and dedicated resourcing for First Nations including funding for a specific position on the leadership team.
Ryan says this is a report for reform of the Queensland Police Service. He says he has every confidence the leadership will take it seriously:
I’ve got confidence that the commissioner as well as members of the leadership … will take this report seriously and work towards the audit and the best possible service which supports people in the community.
He says these are issues that will take time to change, but that change starts now:
We need to move quickly and i think the police service will do its best.
Ryan is being asked about the appointment of Steve Gollschewski. We recently reported that First Nations leaders claim Queensland’s second-most senior police officer became angry and aggressive during a meeting with them.
He’s a very accomplished leader. He works well with all all Queenslanders and I have every confidence that he will deliver on these reforms.
Our story is here:
In response to questions from the Guardian, the QPS did not directly address the incident, but said there had been “no intention to cause offence” during any police interactions with the reference group.
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The police minister, Mark Ryan, is back up:
I think it’s important that Queenslanders have confidence in their police service and the interactions they have, and also that members of the Queensland police service feel supported in the workplace.
Ryan said this is why he called for the commission:
I look forward to working with Commissioner [Katarina] Carroll, as well as all members of Queensland police service to ensure that the recommendations are implemented, that the roadmap is audited, and that the additional resources that the police service needs and to ensure that people in the community get the support they need.
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Palaszczuk says people need to treat each other better:
At the end of the day, people have got to treat one another better. And like I said, these respectful relationships, the way men and women interact it doesn’t happen as an adult. It starts at an early age, it starts at a young age and it starts in the home.
Palaszczuk says this is a very troubling issue:
But this is a wake-up call for the Queensland Police Service to do better – the community expects a higher standard. And that’s what they must deliver.
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Palaszczuk is now answering questions. She says:
I think Queenslanders can have confidence that our government has always been ahead when it comes to implementing reform for domestic and fair prevention of domestic and family violence.
You may recall [the] Quentin Bryce report that was handed down and ever since then, we have had three action plans, and later this week at the White Ribbon [event] we will release our fourth action plan.
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Fentiman:
Good governments are brave enough to uncover what is uncomfortable, what is ugly and what is unacceptable, because that is the only way you can change the system to make it safe for the community – to make it safer for victims of domestic family violence.
There are clearly significant issues within the Queensland Police Service around sexism, racism and misogyny.
But importantly, we now have a roadmap with 78 recommendations so that we can turn this around and make sure that we have a modern police service that overhauls recruitment and training and leadership across all levels.
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Attorney general to victim-survivors: 'We heard you'
The Queensland attorney general, Shannon Fentiman, is up now:
We have to do more to protect women and children escaping violence. My message to the many victim-survivors who were brave enough to come forward and share their stories – we heard you, we believe you and now we’re taking action. This report makes for disturbing reading.
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Ryan says good people in the force will feel the commentary around this report “very personally”.
He says it is a hard day but the report will make Queensland a safer place.
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The Queensland police minister Mark Ryan is speaking now:
As your minister, as long as you do the right thing I will always defend you and the work you do every single day.
It is my expectation that the interactions between Queenslanders and members of the Queensland Police Service are always courteous, always consistent with community values of tolerance and respect.
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Palaszczuk:
There will also be an assistant commissioner of First Nations – the minister will have more information on that in a minute.
Justice Margaret McMurdo will act as an independent adviser to implement these reforms.
Today, we’re going to draw a line in the sand and commit now more than ever to a reformed and better police service.”
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Palaszczuk has announced that Steve Gollschewski has been appointed as a special coordinator.
The cabinet has approved $100 million to bring about the reforms and hundreds of extra QPS personnel to provide specialist support to victims of domestic and family violence.
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Cabinet supports all 78 recommendations in principle: Palaszczuk
Palaszczuk:
What this report does, is it essentially rips the Band-Aid off and says there is some deep-seated cultural issues about the way in which some members – and let me stress some members – of the police service interact with First Nations, how they interact with people from multicultural backgrounds, and how they interact with dealing with women.
Are women believed? What can we do to assist a woman fleeing domestic and family violence? How can we treat women better?
How can we bring about effective change … the recommendations that are put forward in the rest of this report. And there are 78 and cabinet has supported all of those recommendations in principle.
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Palaszczuk has started by talking about the hard work police members do:
From the outset, can I say there are 17,000 men and women that work in the police service, and they’re there to keep our community safe, and at times they have to go in and confront the worst situations one could ever go into.
People’s homes dealing with domestic and family violence, go to road sites and see people ripped apart through awful car tragedies. They go and work in rural and remote places of our state and they worked incredibly hard during Covid and times of natural disaster.
She said the report is not a reflection on the entire service.
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Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks after 'raw and confronting' inquiry
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is speaking:
This inquiry is raw and confronting. But this is about improving response to family and domestic violence.
Right throughout the report are examples from women about their treatment in relation to responses to domestic and family violence. To the way in which they have been spoken to by members of the police service and of course, there is a huge response from the commissioners in relation to a case for change.
And that change needs to happen right throughout the police service.
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After hearing shocking and distressing evidence of racism and misogyny within the ranks of the Queensland police service, an inquiry into QPS responses to domestic and family violence will hand down its final report this afternoon.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, attorney general Shannon Fentiman and police minister Mark Ryan will hand down the report at 2pm local time.
Last month the inquiry heard horrendous stories about the alleged treatment of women, including allegations of female officers being raped by colleagues. It also heard police recruits were taught racist attitudes at the state’s academy, including comments about Indigenous people that “you can smell them before you see them”.
The inquiry was tasked with determining whether “cultural issues” plagued QPS ranks and if that was negatively affecting police investigations of domestic and family violence and whether cultural issues were contributing to the overrepresentation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system.
