Katarina Carroll’s five years as Queensland Police Commissioner
We look back on Katarina Carroll’s five years as Queensland Police Commissioner – a period of controversy, tragedy and challenges.
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Katarina Carroll was sworn in as the state’s 20th Commissioner on July 8, 2019 and she would lead the service through the coronavirus pandemic, the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service Responses to Domestic and Family Violence and multiple police killings – including the Wieambilla massacre.
In her early days, Ms Carroll became known as the friendly face of the service, posting photographs of her visits to rural and remote stations all over Queensland where she met with frontline officers.
Ms Carroll has regularly met with the relatives of victims of serious crime, including the family of Redbank Plains grandmother Vyleen White who was stabbed to death, allegedly by a teenager, in a shopping centre car park earlier this month.
In recent days, Ms Carroll has taken the heat for the state’s youth crime crisis, despite frontline police repeatedly expressing frustration that recidivist juvenile offenders are consistently being released on bail.
Domestic violence expansions
The murders of Doreen Langham and Hannah Clarke and her children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4 and Trey, 3 sparked a passion for domestic violence reform and Ms Carroll swiftly set up the Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Command, led by Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd. She also expanded Queensland’s specialist domestic violence Vulnerable Persons Units.
But even the DV Command initiative was marred in controversy when it was revealed at the Commission of Inquiry that the unit was severely understaffed.
Ms Carroll’s presence at the commission of inquiry began with a rocky start after counsel assisting the inquiry, Ruth O’Gorman KC, revealed the commissioner had initially declined to give evidence.
Ms O’Gorman said Ms Carroll had been contacted on August 4 and then again on August 11, when she was told her presence was “required” and asked whether a summons needed to be issued.
“I was content to come along,” Ms Carroll told the inquiry.
She was questioned about a lack of staff in the DV Command, admitting to Ms O’Gorman she had never been to visit the unit after its establishment – despite it being in the same building as her office.
The inquiry heard Mr Codd had made repeated pleas for more permanent staff but Ms Carroll argued she was not given specific or urgent requests for positions.
“I said to the Assistant Commissioner as I walked out the door, you know, anything you want, you can get,” she said.
“I cannot be more proactive in telling someone that.”
But Ms O’Gorman criticised Ms Carroll for never having taken the elevator “two floors down” to visit the DV Command.
The Covid-19 pandemic
Ms Carroll said the coronavirus pandemic had kept her from looking into how it was operating.
She would spend two days on the stand being questioned about the Queensland Police Service’s culture of racism, sexism and misogyny, including many examples of how officers had been given local managerial guidance when harsher punishments may have been more appropriate.
The inquiry also saw the resignation of Deputy Commissioner Paul Taylor after it was revealed he made a lewd comment at a leadership conference.
“He was under no illusion of what I thought about it,” Ms Carroll said, after acknowledging she personally counselled her deputy after the incident.
The commission of inquiry was so damaging to the reputation of the police service that Ms Carroll was repeatedly asked whether she would resign.
“I’m a CEO in charge of 17,500 people … I’m hoping to survive (the findings),” she said at the time.
“I don’t have plans to step down.”
In 2022, Ms Carroll told The Courier-Mail frontline police had been overworked during two years of Covid policing, with staff on borders, at hotels and at ports.
“And there were some days that we had up to the most intense periods, we had, you know, up to 1200 staff on that,” she said at the time.
During the outbreak, the service also suspended 116 officers and 85 staff members for not complying with the Commissioner’s mandatory vaccination requirements, placing further strain on the service.
The commissioner’s controversial Service Delivery Project, which was aimed at making greater efficiencies in frontline policing, was also brought in during Covid.
However it was ultimately scrapped last year after staff complaints were aired by the Queensland Police Union.
The Wieambilla tragedy
In December, 2022, Ms Carroll faced the tragedy of losing two of her officers when they were gunned down by religious extremists and conspiracy theorists Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train.
“I think the death of an officer or officers is by far the most difficult … they are your people … they are like the children I too need to protect … they are similar ages to my own children,” she said on the anniversary of the deaths of constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold.
During her tenure the Commissioner has also battled with staff retention and recruitment, an issue which has plagued all jurisdictions in the last five years.
But highly-ranked officers have told The Courier-Mail their biggest issue is that the service is too stretched managing other departmental roles, with less focus on the “core responsibility” of protecting the Queensland community.
Senior police have said the service is 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.
Less than two weeks ago, amid the state’s crime crisis and after the murder of Ms White, Ms Carroll wrote to staff to say she would “always provide frank and fearless advice to the government” to ask for resources and law changes.
“I have been very open and upfront about the challenges and pressures being placed on our frontline and I know that the community sees the good work that Queensland Police do every day to tackle these challenges,” Ms Carroll wrote.
Around the same time Ms Carroll said again that she would not resign.
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