Queensland police are reviewing complaints made by a whistleblower at the Brisbane watch house, including allegations that staff conducted “illegal” strip-searches, adults exposed themselves to children and a girl being placed in a cell with adult men.
The claims were made in a submission to a committee examining the state’s youth crime bill by watch house officer Steven Marshall, which was uploaded to the parliamentary committee’s website before being quickly removed.
In the submission, Marshall described “human rights breaches” he claims he witnessed during 2018 and 2019, such as prisoners not being given underwear and staff wrapping towels around prisoners’ heads to avoid spit hood protocols, causing them to “feel waterboarded”.
The Queensland police (QPS) said its ethical standards command has now launched a “review”.
“The ethical standards command is currently conducting a manual review of all complaints received in relation to the Brisbane City Watchhouse in 2018 and 2019, in order to identify ongoing or resolved internal investigations relating to the matters requested,” a spokesperson said.
In a joint response to the submissions last week, the QPS and the departments of justice and youth justice said Marshall’s submission was “unavailable”, but did not explain why.
Guardian Australia has unsuccessfully sought a statement from the committee about why the submission was removed from the parliamentary website.
On Wednesday the QPS said “an enquiry” was made to the committee about the submission’s existence after it was removed from the website. It said the submission is “currently with ethical standards command”.
The submission was made ahead of parliamentary debate over the government’s youth crime bill this week, which includes making breach of bail an offence for children and expanding an electronic monitoring trial for children as young as 15.
Despite concerns that the measures would be ineffective and would increase the risk of more children being placed in adult watch houses, the government is determined to get the bill passed.
Marshall last year leaked a series of tapes to Guardian Australia that recorded several QPS staff using racist slurs and offensive language at the watch house.
The audio included jokes about one officer’s desire to “skull drag” protesters, discussions of fears of “outbreeding” by Muslim immigrants, and, when speaking about African population growth, the comment “let’s just hope Ebola works”.
In other conversations about people of colour held at the watch house, officers can be heard referring to one black detainee as “a gorilla in the mist” and joking about a fellow officer, saying a female Indigenous detainee “won’t give you a fucking blowjob here”.
The QPS apologised last November for the “sickening and disturbing” recordings and said the incidents are being investigated.
The police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, said the actions of the whistleblower, Steven Marshall, were “excellent” and encouraged officers to come forward with complaints.
A QPS spokesperson said that as of 13 March, “the matter is currently under investigation by the ethical standards command and no further information can be provided at this time”.
