Retired cops to be allowed back on the beat

Commissioner Katarina Carroll has revealed more details about plans to bolster police numbers with retired and departed officers.

Former Queensland police will be able to return to the beat as special constables, in a move to create a new pool of relief officers to alleviate the “critical crisis” of personnel shortages.

Commissioner Katarina Carroll has revealed more about new legislation announced in Parliament on Wednesday, saying officers would fill the gaps on the frontline, similar to existing arrangements in teaching or nursing.

“Opening up opportunities for former police officers could unlock huge benefits for the service, particularly when it comes to filling temporary resourcing gaps,” Ms Carroll said.

Police Minister Mark Ryan dropped the announcement in State Parliament on Wednesday, which will apply to officers who have turned 60 and retired, or previously left the service and want to return.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said officers would be working on the front line, including in Safe Night precincts, in “hard to fill” locations, responding to domestic violence calls and traffic operations.

“They will be doing the duties of first-response police because that is where the shortage is right across Queensland,” he said.

“So it’s not support roles, it’s frontline first response police.”

The special constable positions would be capped at the pay rate of a senior constable and determined on level of experience.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll announces the new recruitment drive on Thursday. Picture: John Gass

Their superannuation contributions will be 12.5 per cent.

If an officer was retired, their superannuation would not be impacted.

The officers will also have to undergo a mental and physical assessment before being accepted.

Griffith University associate professor of criminology Jacqueline Drew said it was an innovative strategy to try and get a grip on a massive staff shortage in the industry.

“We’ve been trying to recruit more officers for a number of years… but we have reached a critical crisis point,” Dr Drew said.

“Which it often does when the government promises in their budget to include police strengthening, but then it’s a challenge for the police agency to attract the recruits and train these recruits.”

Dr Drew said it could also be a lifeline for some police who struggled with leaving the service or did not want to retire at the mandatory age of 60.

Ms Carroll said they had already received some interest from former officers who were keen to get back on the streets.

“We know there are a lot of healthy and highly trained police officers with years of experience who leave the service for a variety of reasons and would be interested in returning on an ad hoc basis,” Ms Carroll said.

“We could see officers return to perform various frontline duties when required such as during natural disasters or major events including the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Police Minister Mark Ryan

Opposition police spokesman Dale Last said on Wednesday the Opposition had no objection to the announcement, but claimed it was proof the government’s recruitment strategy of officers had failed.

“We don’t for one minute dismiss the benefits of having that experience back on the streets,” he said.

“But let’s be honest with ourselves here. The recruitment of those retired officers is but a stopgap measure in the overall recruitment strategy.”

The government promised before the last election that it would deliver an extra 2025 police personnel by 2025, including 1450 sworn police officers who would be on the frontline.

Mr Ryan confirmed the special constables would not be included in the recruitment target, and said the measure had been requested by Ms Carroll.

“Those 2000-plus positions the government is funding are permanent full-time positions,” Mr Ryan said.

“Special constables will only be employed on a casual basis.

“The Queensland Police Service advises that the police academies are going flat out training new recruits with new intakes of recruits occurring approximately every six weeks.”

A leak of internal staffing data earlier this year showed the police’s total headcount for sworn officers had grown by just 92 officers from the 2020 state election to the end of last year.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said he was pleased the government had embraced the concept of special constables amid a nationwide recruitment challenge.

“I know many officers from the rank of constable to senior sergeant who have recently left the police service and believe they still have experience and knowledge to share,” he said.

Opposition police spokesman Dale Last