Culture of ‘systemic discrimination’ in Queensland Police identified

A culture of discrimination in Queensland Police is making it harder to recruit and retain officers.

That’s among the key findings of a 236-page Queensland Human Rights Commission inquiry which identified ingrained prejudice against female, Indigenous and minority officers.

The inquiry made 36 recommendations for change including increasing accountability for leaders, introducing new KPIs for diversity, reviewing physical recruitment assessments that favour men including a 100-metre swimming requirement, and normalising flexible work arrangements.

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski speaks on Tuesday after the report is handed down. Credit: William Davis

“Our review found systemic discrimination against women, First Nations and culturally diverse officers is driven by outdated attitudes embedded within long-standing practices and procedures, rather than just a problem of a few bad apples,” Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall told reporters from police headquarters on Tuesday.

“Queensland Police still favours traditional physical skills and attributes that are more often held by white men without primary caring responsibilities. This preference is baked into QPS policies and practices.

“Workplace equality at QPS is not a nice to have. It’s an operational imperative if QPS wants the workforce and skills needed to keep Queenslanders safe.”

One police officer told the inquiry Queenslanders would be “absolutely mortified” if “they actually knew some of the stuff that goes on”.

Another said they would not let their daughter join the police.

“It’s the men in the police. That’s where the danger is … I would never recommend this job to anyone,” they said.

A policewoman dubbed “Amy” in the report told members of the inquiry a lack of other females in policing has made her role difficult.

“Not having female role models, or females who had walked my path, or females that I could turn to for advice … was quite significant,” she said.

More than 130 one-on-one interviews were conducted as part of the inquiry, 2724 surveys were filled out by employees, and five focus groups were run.

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski was defensive of his organisation but acknowledged changes are needed.

“I think the frontline do a fantastic job … they should be supported for that. They shouldn’t be painted as racist or whatever,” he said.

“There’s more work that needs to be done, and despite some of the things that we’ve committed to, there are still challenges in this space, and some of it is systemic.”

He is yet to commit to implementing any of the 36 recommendations made in the report, but said a decision on each would be made and briefed to the government early next year.

“I’m not going to commit to anything at this stage until we do this proper piece of work,” he said.

“Every one of them has to be considered very carefully and properly.”

The review followed a damning Commission of Inquiry in November 2022 which found a culture of widespread sexism, racism and misogyny.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.