A four-month probe into the police response to domestic and family violence cases in Queensland, has heard officers avoided attending domestic violence call outs and made derogatory comments like "she's too ugly to be raped".
WARNING: This story contains strong language that some readers may find offensive
The inquiry, headed by Judge Deborah Richards, today heard from retired Queensland police officer Audra Pollard who compared her time in the service as "very similar to high school" saying she had experienced bullying and belittling behaviour.
Ms Pollard, who was a coordinator officer in police communications centres for nearly a decade in Townsville, Mackay and Brisbane, said colleagues would "frequently" make derogatory comments about callers, including victims reporting domestic violence.
In a written statement Ms Pollard said the more times a person became known as a "regular [caller], the less support and empathy they received".
"I have overheard within the workplace, other police … radio dispatchers and even my senior sergeant … here in the Brisbane communications centre … refer to callers in a derogatory way," she told the inquiry.
She said her colleagues would make comments like: "Oh — that f**kwit has called again … don't bother sending a crew to that job, she's just blowing hot air, that sort of thing."
Officers avoiding calls, 'very evident'
Ms Pollard told the inquiry she witnessed police avoiding and delaying attending domestic and family violence calls for service or diverting domestic violence incidents to the front counter.
"The [domestic violence call-out] job could be hours old, could be days old —I've seen police units actually just leave a business card and report back to the communications room saying, 'we've done this, we've left the card for that person to attend the station to make a report'.'"
Ms Pollard told the inquiry that was not in line with QPS practices or procedures.
She said in her view, cultural issues within the QPS were likely due to a "combination of policing and operational fatigue".
"There is a lot of responsibility placed on our first response officers," she told the inquiry.
"Our organisation is very statistics driven, so there is a lot of pressure on our … operational police which in turn, creates a great deal of stress and in turn, creates operational fatigue."
'Derogatory' and 'misogynistic' comments
Earlier this week the inquiry heard from a serving Queensland police officer who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The officer said he had heard colleagues make offensive remarks about female victims who were raped in intimate sex, claiming it was "surprise sex" or that "she deserved it".
The officer told the inquiry other comments, made by seasoned male officers, included "domestic violence is just foreplay", "she's too ugly to be raped" or "I can see why he does it to her — if I was in his position, I'd do that".
He said derogatory language was also used to describe female colleagues behind their backs, including "c*nt", "f***ing slut" and "mole".
"I could go on for ages about the kind of name calling that goes on," he told the inquiry.
"The misogyny is just so wild, and that underpins our attitudes to female victim survivors and we're a male dominated organisation."
The officer told the inquiry he had known several male officers who "exhibit perpetrator behaviour" and "red flags for coercive control", including controlling their partners' finances, what they wear or emotional abuse.
He spoke of one particularly concerning incident involving a male colleague in 2017 or 2018.
The officer said he made an internal complaint, but "the officer continued to work their shift and I never heard anything about the outcome".
He also told the inquiry officers would sometimes avoid attending domestic violence call-outs, saying things like "no, no, no, no, f**k that, we're not doing this job. That's a code three, one of the other crews will pick them up".
He said he knew of instances where women reporting allegations of domestic violence had also been turned away at the front counter of police stations.
'It's dehumanisation, and it is negligence'
The officer said he was "devastated" after receiving an email from Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll in late 2021, who said she did not believe there were widespread cultural issues affecting police investigations of domestic and family violence.
"It's so clear to me that some of the core business that happens in my station, it's misogyny and it's dehumanisation, and it is negligence," he told the inquiry.
He said the domestic and family violence training provided to officers needed to be "significantly better".
Queensland police told the ABC it is "encouraging and supporting current and former officers in contributing to the commission of inquiry".
"One officer has given evidence about their previous experience of negative and concerning behaviours at a particular police station," a spokesperson said.
"The QPS will work with the commission of inquiry to examine those issues and to respond to ensure that organisational values, standards of practice and responsibilities are being maintained and, where the opportunity arises, enhanced."
The ABC contacted Commissioner Carroll for comment, but a QPS spokesperson said it would not make any specific comments while the inquiry was ongoing.
Officers 'overwhelmed and fatigued'
The inquiry has heard from several specialist officers this week, including the state's most senior officer in charge of domestic violence investigations, Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Codd.
He told the inquiry the police service is struggling to keep up with demand, with officers spending more than 40 per cent of their time responding to domestic violence matters.
He said officers were overwhelmed and fatigued and were reporting high levels of burnout and psychological distress.
The inquiry was announced by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in May, as part of a raft of recommendations adopted from the Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce.
Five weeks of public hearings are scheduled in Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns and Mount Isa.
Hearings in regional areas will examine the experiences and observations of regional and Indigenous police officers, legal representatives and community support workers.
It is expected to hand down its final report in October.
