‘Blood, urine, faeces’: Officers report extreme work conditions

Queensland police have reported working in shocking conditions, with thousands of officers diverted from the frontline at an overtime cost of $56 million to help manage the state’s buckling watchhouse system, an internal review has revealed.

The review, released by the QPS on Thursday into the state’s 63 watchhouses, detailed how both officers and prisoners had been exposed to urine, blood, and faeces in watchhouses, with children held in watchhouses for a week on average.

In one incident in February, a prisoner was held in a watchhouse for 25 days despite attempts to transfer them to the custody of Queensland Corrective Services.

More than 37,000 shifts have been diverted from the frontline so officers can transport prisoners or guard them at hospital. Credit: Queensland Police

As they spent longer in the watchhouse, their hostility and aggravation increased, resulting in officers being exposed to bodily contaminants, and significant damage to the watchhouse. The prisoner was then taken for a mental health assessment.

“Over the next 15 days, 90 officers were diverted from frontline duties in a highly populated metro area during peak holiday season to supervise the prisoner in the hospital 24/7,” one employee told the review team.

Officers then received substantial overtime pay including public holiday rates, and were at risk of fatigue. The prisoner was returned to the watchhouse after their medical treatment to await their next court hearing.

Watchhouse staff then said they continually requested for the prisoner to be transferred to the care of QCS, but the transfer was declined for 25 days.

On Thursday, data showed there were 63 adults and one child in the Brisbane watchhouse. Credit: Toby Crockford

According to the review, in 2024 alone, more than 37,000 frontline shifts, or almost 300,000 hours, were spent transporting, escorting or guarding prisoners.

“Based on officer salaries, this equates to an approximate upper limit of $56.5 million spent on overtime wages alone and does not include transport vehicle cost such as fuel and maintenance,” the report said. The figure was calculated on a senior constable’s hourly rate of $189, but due to inconsistent data, the figure was likely an underestimation of true costs.

Many watchhouses had poor temperature control and ventilation, the report said, with some having no windows or access to fresh air. In other instances, some facilities were open air, leaving them subject to the weather as well as rodent and insect infestations.

There were reports of fluorescent lights being on 24/7, meaning prisoners had no sense of time, and that the conditions were so poor that prisoners deliberately injured themselves to get transferred to hospital for treatment.

The review team said they observed official visitors sitting outside cells or crouching down to speak with prisoners through mesh grills because of a lack of appropriate space for meetings. Segregation was also an issue, with girls exposed to adult prisoners or boys, including in showers or toilets, where there are no privacy screens.

It also found nearly 25 per cent of prisoners were held beyond the intended 72-hour limit, leading to increased risk of self-harm. Last year, about 7400 children were admitted through watchhouses, which was about 10 per cent of the total.

Deputy Commissioner Cameron Harsley said adults were now spending on average 118 hours in a watchhouse, while children were recording an average of 161 hours. Some adults are kept in watchhouses for over 20 days.

“They are not custody facilities, they are processing facilities,” he said on Thursday.

“So, building more watchhouses is not going to solve the problem. It’s moving people through those watchhouses to specific custody facilities for long-term management.”

The review said legislative changes regarding bail laws had also affected the ability to manage demands in watchhouses.

Harsley said the review was funded internally, and conducted by QPS staff predominantly. But he said the QPS did seek legal professional advice at a cost of about $500,000.

The review recommended 34 changes to be made to the system, including that the QPS develop business cases for capital works for watchhouses, a body scanner trial to enhance safety, and for the QPS to seek specialist advice on nutritional guidelines for food provision in the facilities.

There was also a recommendation for the QPS to prepare a policy position for the government to consider a maximum length of prisoner stay in watchhouses and hold cells.

Police Minister Dan Purdie said he agreed with the recommendations, and confirmed $16 million would be allocated for upgrades to facilities.

He would not elaborate on a timeframe for the works, and conceded that all watchhouses needed issues addressed.

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