Queenslanders score police six out of 10

The news

The service provided by police in Queensland has been rated six out of 10 by more than 10,000 residents and businesses in a state-first survey.

The survey, done in two phases by an external company between August 2020 and February 2023, focused on the overall experience, initial contact, the investigation of a complaint and resolution.

Since the survey work began, police came under scrutiny through a state inquiry that found a culture of racism, sexism and misogyny.Credit: Dan Peled / Brisbane Times

With a mark of 10 representing extremely satisfied, and zero being not satisfied, survey respondents scored police highest for the outcome stage (8.5), followed by initial contact (6.7) and the investigation stage (six).

Respondents gave the overall experience a six, with little change between the two phases. They scored police the lowest on being kept up to date (4.5), sparking new training for officers and staff.

Why it matters

Police launched the project in 2020 to better understand how the community felt about its service delivery and service design changes. It had been slated for public and internal release last year, but delayed.

Since the survey work began, the agency faced pandemic challenges and came under scrutiny in the form of a damning inquiry that found a culture of racism, sexism and misogyny, along with criticism of its response.

Police have recently acknowledged heightened fear in the community despite falling crime rates, suggesting that in Townsville this might have been from the agency’s own recent increased presence.

Greater support for victims of crime, including the real-time information shared by police, has been a focus of the Labor government and LNP opposition.

What they said

In a statement, police said the anonymous survey covered the experiences of people and businesses who had requested service via means including triple zero, Policelink and front counters.

The low score given by victims being kept up to date on the progress of police investigations was a “key theme”, which police were now trying to address with a five-minute intensive training video.

The community’s trust that police would keep them safe (6.9) and deliver services (6.7) was also measured.

By the numbers

The release of the survey results came just days after an annual Productivity Commission report on police services across a number of measures nationwide across the 2022-23 financial year.

• 75 per cent of Queensland adults surveyed for that work were satisfied or very satisfied with the services of police in their most recent contact, below the national of average (77.2 per cent) which has slumped to a 10-year low.
• The rate of complaints against police per 100,000 people was 24, down from 28 in 2013-14 and lower than in NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
• Queensland scored above the national average, and above the best jurisdictions, for the percentage of investigations finalised within 30 days across each offence category measured.

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