More than 90% of the allegations made against Queensland police last year for “assault or excessive use of force” that were found to warrant further action did not prompt disciplinary sanctions, data shows.
Figures in this year’s Queensland police service (QPS) annual report showed that in the year to June 2023 there were 2,096 complaints against police involving 5,574 allegations. Of those allegations, 3,100 were judged by Queensland police’s Ethical Standards Command to warrant no further action, while 1,562 complaints remained open.
Of the remaining 912 deemed to warrant further action, 84% were dealt with via “local management resolution” (LMR).
LMR is defined in QPS procedures as appropriate when “a disciplinary sanction is not required”. It often includes a conversation with a manager and can sometimes include additional training or rehabilitation.
The 2022-23 QPS annual report showed there had been 619 allegations of assault or use of excessive force against officers, of which 44 resulted in further action. Forty of those cases, or 91%, were dealt with via LMR.
LMR was also issued in the majority of actions against officers for failure of duty (93%); unlawful or unauthorised operational practice (85%); unprofessional conduct (80%); misuse of information (74%); and misuse of authority (79%).
Three-quarters of actions in response to allegations against officers for “interfere with or undermine an investigation, legal process or conduct matter” were also dealt with via LMR.
LRM sprang to prominence at last year’s inquiry into the state’s police, where commissioner Katarina Carroll admitted the organisation’s disciplinary system was “broken” after she was confronted with examples of officers being dealt with via LMR for making racist and sexist comments.
“It’s there for little minor errors, you know, minor issues. It’s there for that right reason of corrective behaviour, guidance, education,” Carroll said. “The problem is it’s being applied to issues that I think it should not be applied to.”
Guardian Australia revealed last month that officers who were recorded making “sickening” racist comments while working inside a Brisbane watch house had also been dealt with via LMR, prompting widespread criticism.
QPS procedures state LMR is appropriate when “there is some evidence the alleged conduct occurred … and a disciplinary sanction is not required” or “the alleged conduct, whilst lawful, was not optimal in the circumstances”.
“The process does not involve a finding [that] a ground for discipline has been substantiated but identifies areas for improvement,” QPS procedures state.
Tim Prenzler, a criminology professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast, said LMR had been “severely discredited” in last year’s commission of inquiry.
“Local management resolution fails tests of independence and impartiality, facilitates inaction and cover-ups, fails to include complainants in a restorative process, and lacks an organisational learning process to improve policing,” he told Guardian Australia.
Prenzler said that given the inquiry last November, there was no excuse for “ the continuation of these self-serving practices”.
He also criticised the delay in setting up an independent police integrity unit to investigate all complaints against police, which was a recommendation of the inquiry.
The president of the Queensland Civil Liberties Council, Michael Cope, said the figures “certainly raise concern”.
“It may be that all these decisions were appropriate but police have enormous powers, they need to be subjected to proper supervision – independent review,” he said.
“That can only be done by setting up an independent body specifically dedicated to police discipline.”
Cope said the state’s corruption watchdog took an “extremely hands off approach” to investigating issues about police officers. The inquiry revealed last year the Crime and Corruption Commission referred up to 99% of matters back to the police service to investigate them internally.
“Any idea that police can investigate themselves exploded at the commission of inquiry,” Cope said.
“The public should have confidence that [these allegations] will be dealt with by an independent, properly resourced body with its own investigators.”
Queensland repealed its police disciplinary system in 2019, which was established after the landmark Fitzgerald corruption inquiry, despite concerns from civil libertarians about “fundamental flaws” with the new framework.
The new system encouraged the use of “management strategies” rather than formal sanctions for police misconduct and misbehaviour.
Guardian Australia has contacted Queensland police for comment.
