Cameron Humphreys has always looked up to his father and last year the 22-year-old decided to follow in his footsteps and apply for the Queensland police service.
“My inspiration was bettering the community and wanting to be a part of it – making a difference,” he says. “My dad [who is a police officer] is my hero and he definitely pushed me down that path.”
One of the first steps was a medical test, which cost about $500, and Humphrey passed the physical requirements with flying colours. But his hopes dissolved after he revealed to the force he had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“It wasn’t until I disclosed that I was taking Ritalin that I was immediately shut down without them asking any more questions,” Humphreys says. “My psychiatrist wrote them a letter. It cost me $150 but it didn’t matter. That was a kick in the guts.”
Under Queensland police standards for general duty officers, recruits with ADHD must obtain a report from a psychiatrist or psychologist to demonstrate they have been symptom-free and off treatment – including medication and counselling – for at least two years to join the force.
They must also prove “the risk of relapse or symptom reaggravation is not significant for them to be hired by the force”.
The Queensland police service (QPS) has some of the strictest medical standards in the country when it comes to ADHD.
In Victoria applicants must have “ceased use of all medication to treat ADHD for at least 12 months before any assessment of their suitability” – one year less than in Queensland.
New South Wales police say “ADHD must be assessed as clinically stable for a substantial period with or without medication for at least 24 months”.
In New Zealand applicants with a history of ADHD are assessed on a case-by-case basis with some medications excluding them from recruitment.
Humphreys has forgone medication since learning of Queensland police’s standards in the hope he will be eligible to reapply in the next 12 months. But he doubts he’ll ever be completely symptom-free.
“Whether I’m at work or relaxing by the pool, I still have this condition. I still have the hyperactive tendencies,” he says. “I’m going to be the exact same person and have the same brain chemistry in two years’ time.”
Guardian Australia has spoken with several failed police recruits who have ADHD and say this policy is discriminatory and unrealistic.
Jocelyn Simpson* is calling on QPS to scrap its blanket ADHD policies on symptoms and medication. She lodged a complaint with the state’s Human Rights Commission last year after being rejected from three Queensland police jobs.
“We can’t just magically change how our brain works. It’s a bit of a kick in the teeth,” she says. “If a person has medication that stabilises their symptoms, why are they preventing people from using them?”
Simpson says ADHD did not stop her from working in high-pressure jobs at law firms and she doesn’t believe it would have any adverse impacts in a policing job.
“I had some minor inattention, particularly when it came to long meetings, and some level of restlessness, maybe a bouncy leg or needing to fidget,” she says. “I was pretty devastated because I’ve been wanting to do this for 20 years.”
Dr James Ogilvie, a psychologist and criminologist, says it’s a fallacy that you can be cured of ADHD as it is a lifelong neurological disorder that often emerges from birth.
But he says with the right medication and therapy the condition is manageable and would be no barrier to policing.
“It’s a bit silly that QPS has this rule saying somebody can’t be in treatment [for two years before applying] given that it’s a lifelong disorder,” Ogilvie says.
He’s also concerned that recruits may decide to go without medication to fulfil the requirements.
“That could be very dangerous,” Ogilvie says. “It’s absolutely not appropriate and doesn’t reflect the nature of the disorder.”
The strict standards come amid laborious attempts from QPS to bolster officer numbers due to shortages in frontline staff.
In February, the force launched an international campaign to hire up to 500 officers from overseas each year for five years. In April, the state government passed new laws to allow retired cops to continue to serve as “special constables”.
And in May, QPS announced they would wipe $20,000 off recruits’ Hecs debts to attract interstate officers to the service.
But prospective officers with ADHD such as Emma Jones* have been forced to find work elsewhere after being rejected from Queensland police.
Jones is now studying at a police academy abroad to pursue her dream job.
“It’s been really tough being away from my partner and friends,” Jones says. “I think it’s a shame that [QPS] miss out on potentially a lot of good people [because of this policy].”
A QPS spokesperson said the standards are being reviewed by an independent expert but “policing is an extremely psychologically demanding occupation”.
“The possession of dangerous weapons (eg firearms, tasers), the deliberate use of force, and the need to rapidly respond to critical events in a calm manner requires police officers to display a stable cognitive, emotional and behavioural state,” they said.
They said at present each person is assessed against their standards by an authorised pre-employment medical service provider.
The spokesperson said the QPS “recruitment pipeline is strengthening” and they always encourage people “to follow qualified medical advice in terms of their physical and psychological health”.
*Names have been changed
