Police prosecutors struggling with workloads, reading cases for first time in court
Stressed-out police prosecutors are struggling under the weight of huge workloads and at times reading case files for the first time while “on their feet in court”.
Police & Courts
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STRESSED-OUT police prosecutors are struggling under the weight of huge workloads and at times reading case files for the first time while “on their feet in court”.
An internal review of Police Prosecutions Services, seen by The Courier-Mail, has lifted the lid on a string of issues, including complaints about huge workloads exacerbated by a lack of interest in unfilled prosecutor vacancies linked to less pay and limited chance of promotion.
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Completed by District Court Judge Brendan Butler in December, the review recommends more opportunities for prosecutors to rise up the ranks and stricter rules to ensure there was less interference from investigators as to whether they push ahead with their cases in the court system.
The Courier-Mail revealed on Saturday a string of botched Magistrates Court cases triggering cost orders against the police over faulty police investigations and gaping holes in police briefs of evidences.
Prosecution sources told the newspaper that the final court result was given little focus within the police service, compared with the statistics around how many charges were laid and clear-up rates on reported crimes.
The review of Police Prosecutions Services, which handles the bulk of the state’s court proceedings, found that of 331 prosecutor positions statewide, there were 20 vacancies for sworn officers as at June 2019 and another 10 prosecutors – all sworn officers – were on extended sick leave.
And just 13 sworn officers on average were signing up to the six-month prosecutor training courses held twice a year, despite each course offering 22 places.
On top of the low demand, 20 sworn police officers working in prosecutions left the service in the three years to June 2019, with another 37 transferring to another area.
Some prosecutors in regional areas were also required to act as court orderlies or to conduct prisoner transfers, the review found.
“Perceived understaffing of both prosecutors and administrative support was considered to contribute to stress levels,” it said.
A lack of training after being appointed to the job, the loss of the 20 per cent police shift allowance on moving to Police Prosecutions and lack of career progression were key factors, the review found.
Prosecutors also told of having little time to consider matters before the first court appearance date to prepare for sentencing or bail applications.
“Some referred to reading the file for the first time when on their feet in court,” it found.