Qld failing to recruit police at rate pledged at election

Seriously undermanned police stations have been exposed as it is revealed Queensland has failed to recruit officers at the rate required to properly uphold the law.

Queensland Police Service is lagging badly on its recruitment targets.

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The alarming extent to which the state government has fallen behind its election pledge to boost the Queensland Police Service by 1450 officers by 2025 has been revealed through internal staffing data.

The extraordinary leak shows the police’s total headcount for sworn officers has grown by just 92 officers to 12,319 from the 2020 election to the end of last year – a rise of just 0.75 per cent.

The rare glimpse into the detailed human resources data also reveals there were 11 stations to have five or more fewer officers at the end of December compared to the middle of 2015 – four months after the Labor government came to power.

The Courier-Mail understands that, of these, seven stations were operating below the approved strength allocated to the division – Sandgate, Beenleigh, Fortitude Valley, West End, Holland Park, Mount Ommaney and Mackay.

Of these, Mackay and Sandgate had fewer officers at the end of December than the approved strength, meaning they had fewer officers than what was allocated through government funds.

But Holland Park, Fortitude Valley, Mount Ommaney and West End operate on a borderless model given the proximity to other stations in inner-Brisbane, while Beenleigh was impacted by a reclassification of staff during the period.

It can also be revealed that four single-officer stations currently operate with no assigned officer – Goovigen, Marlborough, Tieri and Mckinlay – where the communities rely on shared resources from nearby stations.

The rare access to staffing data documents officer numbers for a snapshot in time.

The Toowoomba station had more than 25 fewer officers at the end of December compared to the 133.9 in mid-2015.

But The Courier-Mail understands the Darling Downs’ station was abnormally boosted by a higher number of officers during the 2015 snapshot due to operational matters.

It is understood the Toowoomba division was staffed within its approved strength, as was Rockhampton, Surfers Paradise and Caboolture – all recorded more than five fewer officers at the end of 2022 compared to mid-2015.

Police Minister Mark Ryan said the government has provided police with the funding to cover the cost of hiring personnel to keep up with the election promise despite the recruitment shortfall.

He also acknowledged challenges persisting in other jurisdictions and industries to attract staff.

“The Palaszczuk government will always support the Police Commissioner and the QPS in attracting, recruiting and retaining QPS members,” Mr Ryan said.

“That is why the Palaszczuk government has delivered the biggest boost to police in more than three decades, and has committed funds for an additional 2025 police personnel over five years.

The leaked internal staffing figures come after it was revealed Acting Deputy Commissioner Ben Marcus expressed concern in an internal document about the service’s ability to recruit officers.

“Currently, the organisation would need over 1200 recruits to be inducted this year to meet service demand,” according to the internal documents summarised from senior leadership meetings.

“Commands/divisions are currently carrying 206 vacancies (6.2 per cent).

“Between now and 2026, there is nearly 800 police officers that will leave the organisation due to mandatory retirement age (60) with many being specialist officers in investigations, legal services and road safety.”