Katarina Carroll: Under-fire Commissioner to be given list of concerns by hundreds of fed up officers
Hundreds of some of Queensland’s highest ranking cops including chief superintendents are set to detail concerns about the leadership direction of the service, as pressure mounts on the under-fire Commissioner.
Police & Courts
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Hundreds of senior police will detail concerns about the leadership direction of the service and hand it to under-fire Commissioner Katarina Carroll amid mounting pressure on the top cop who has already endured revolt from disgruntled frontline officers.
The Queensland Police Commissioned Officers Union on Friday confirmed it would speak with its 300 members, ranked Inspector to Chief Superintendent, about the direction the senior leadership is taking them as concerns linger about the state’s crime crisis.
It comes amid frustrations the police service has taken on too many roles outside of its “core responsibility” of protecting the Queensland community.
Highly-ranked officers have told The Courier-Mail the service was being driven by the government and police had taken on responsibilities of the State Emergency Service, Maritime Safety Queensland, Queensland Ambulance Service ramping, youth justice including the government’s five-point plan, Queensland Government Air, Protective Services and Queensland Health responsibilities during the Covid-19 years.
The criticism coincided with officer unrest after a Gold Coast officer was stood down over claims he authorised colleagues ram a vehicle.
In a message to members on Friday, the union said planned meetings with senior officers would be “beneficial to assist with the planning towards our next EB (enterprise bargaining agreement) and gain a greater understanding of any concerns of commissioned officers”.
The union said it would express any concerns with the Commissioner after the meetings.
Union president Kerry Johnson said the union was not seeking a vote of no confidence but was “reaching out to its members as part of routine consultation”.
“The formulation and distribution of the email is not related to any specific event. It is a planned series of events the Commissioned Officers Union undertakes to allow us to better represent our members,” commissioned officers union president Kerry Johnson said.
“The discussion point on exploring views on the current direction of the QPS, is intended to gain a greater understanding of ideas from or concerns of commissioned officers as it relates to safely and effectively policing Queensland.
“Ideas from and concerns of our members will be collated from our planned meetings and provided to the Commissioner.
“Clearly some of our members have concerns and these will be collated in our planned meetings. Those concerns will be addressed with the Commissioner.”
The comments coincide with officer unrest relating to the stand down of Gold Coast senior sergeant Arron Ottaway.
Officers have expressed frustrations he was stood down over claims he authorised officers to ram a stolen car driven by well-known and armed youth offenders earlier this month.
Furious frontline staff this week said they were considering a vote of no confidence in the commissioner, however the move has not been supported by the Queensland Police Union who is pushing for the officer to be reinstated.
Ms Carroll responded this week, saying the matter was under investigation by the ethical standards command and there were allegations “which need to be independently and thoroughly investigated”.
The furore comes at a time as the police service struggles with a crime crisis.
The Commissioner, who in 2022-23 was paid $650,000 a year, has a five-year contract that expires in early July.
Ms Carroll has previously told The Courier-Mail she would seek an extension to her job and only recently confirmed she did not plan to resign.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman on Friday said the commissioner “absolutely” had the confidence of the government.
“She has steered the Queensland Police Service through some enormous change in challenging times in Queensland starting with Covid,” Ms Fentiman said.
“But as the previous minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, without her support, I think we would not have seen a commission of inquiry into how the Queensland Police handle domestic and family violence so I want to thank her for that.”
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