How toxic culture inside Queensland Police Service ruined these three female detectives’ careers

Three female detectives have recounted how their careers went backwards after complaining about being bullied and harassed by their officer-in-charge, while he got a promotion.

Three female detectives who complained about being bullied and harassed by their officer-in-charge say they regret speaking out because their careers went backwards as a result - while their bully got a promotion.

The stories of the women have been published by the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service Responses to Domestic Violence after Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll was questioned about them last week.

The inquiry heard an investigation in 2020 into an unnamed unit within the QPS discovered widespread bullying over more than a decade had been perpetrated by six officers against 15 people.

But the worst, the inquiry heard, was the officer-in-charge, who had engaged in behaviours like making threats, yelling, swearing, openly criticising staff and displaying inappropriate material in the office.

The man sent pornographic material to colleagues, displayed a picture of a woman in swimwear on the office fridge with the words “tap and go”, referred to an officer as “towel head” and “Osama” and referred to two female prospective employees by saying: “these lickers will never get a job in this office.”

He was given local managerial guidance and promoted to a larger station.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll leaving the independent Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service responses to domestic and family violence in Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

The inquiry heard the person who investigated bullying complaints wrote to Ms Carroll asking her to reach out to the three women who had spoken out against the officer-in-charge, labelling them “courageous”.

“I am hoping through simple compassion you could communicate with these officers to hear their stories and perhaps convey admiration for their courage against all odds and have their personal suffering acknowledged,” the investigator wrote.

The inquiry heard the women were not contacted.

Documents released by the inquiry detail the experiences of the three women, including that all three are no longer detectives as a direct result of speaking out.

“It’s common knowledge amongst the police that if you make a complaint then you will be regarded as a dog and it will potentially ruin your career, however, it reached a point I felt I had no other choice,” one of the women, a senior constable, wrote.

“I was in the (redacted). It was my dream job when joining the QPS. However, after making the complaint, the bullying and intimidation continued. I felt that I had no choice but to leave.

“When the Commissioner was appointed, I was so hopeful the time had come where this behaviour would no longer be tolerated and that this would be the start of major change,” she wrote.

“If I had known the outcome of the investigation, I never would have made the complaint, the consequences to myself and my career were not worth the outcome.”

A second female senior constable wrote that the officer-in-charge’s behaviour was well-known and that people knew not to speak out against him.

“This is just the QPS culture, everyone knows that if you complain you will say goodbye to your career,” she wrote.

“That is what happened to me. Before I spoke out, I was a detective in a specialist unit but after giving evidence in the investigation … I was forced out of the unit.

“When my boss found out that I had been interviewed he said, ‘You can pack your shit up and move it next door’.”

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll expressed her regret and said she phoned the officers involved and had a discussion with them. Picture, John Gass

Another senior constable said she was forced to take a lower ranking position after complaining about her superior’s behaviour.

“I loved doing my job as a detective but it became unbearable to the point that after making the complaint, I had no other option but to leave the office and take a lower ranking position,” she wrote.

“I am at a loss as to where to go now in the QPS and fear my name is ‘mud’ which can result in a negative career path. Meanwhile, the subject of my complaint was given relieving positions at higher duties both while the investigation was ongoing and since it has been finalised. I was demonised whereas the perpetrator gained career growth.”

The inquiry heard the person who investigated the bullying made more than one attempt to have Ms Carroll contact the women.

When asked about this by counsel assisting the inquiry, Ruth O’Gorman KC, Ms Carroll expressed her regret.

“When I saw this in your material and it came to me, I immediately phoned those three officers and had a discussion with them,” Ms Carroll said.

“And they had a candid chat about how they felt, and they’re - they were so upset about the outcome and what it did to their career, so upset, and I profusely apologised that because of everything that happens in my office that I did not get back to them, and I’ve given an undertaking to take up with them in the next couple of weeks.”

DAMNING EVIDENCE ABOUT AN UNNAMED POLICING UNIT

■ The male officer in charge of the unit made threats, yelled, swore, openly criticised staff and displayed inappropriate material in office.

■ The officer sent pornographic material to colleagues.

■ Referred to another officer as a ‘towel head’ and ‘Osama’.

■ Made derogatory comments about prospective female employees, saying, “these lickers will never get a job in this office”.

■ Three female detectives who complained had their careers go backwards. The bully was promoted.

■ One female officer who complained was told ‘You can pack your sh-t up and move it next door’ after her boss found out she had made a complaint.

■ Another female officer fears her name is ‘mud’ and her career path has been affected after complaining.