Queensland Police report highlights the problems – but the good far outweighs the bad

Authors of a new report reckons a focus on skills and attitudes traditionally held by ‘white men’ is holding back our police. But there are some traits held by those officers we couldn’t do without.

Here’s a surprisingly controversial thought: let’s hear it for the good guys.

And no, I don’t mean the electrical retailer.

At the heart of a voluminous report about “culture” problems at the Queensland Police Service (QPS) released by the Queensland Human Rights Commission on Tuesday was the suggestion that the service puts too much store in the skills and abilities of “white men”.

“Part of the challenge lies in how the QPS defines and understands merit. The QPS still favours traditional physical skills and attitudes that are more often held by white men without primary caring responsibilities,” Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall said.

“This preference is baked into QPS policies and practices.”

Let’s consider for a moment what those traits include.

For sure, there are sometimes dinosaur attitudes that can lead to instances of sexism or worse in the workplace. That’s not something unique to the QPS, of course.

But what other traits do we see in the staff of this organisation, that maybe you don’t get everywhere else?

* The bravery to run towards danger as the rest of us flee.

* The willingness to work all hours of the day and night, and on any day of the year.

* The smarts to track down the most evil offenders lurking in our society.

* The skills and fitness to physically chase them down when required.

* The compassion and mental strength to help people through their most awful days – including knocking on the doors of loved ones after fatal accidents.

As this column has previously noted, in our darkest moments these are the people we turn to for light.

Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall and Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski during a media conference at Police HQ in Brisbane on Tuesday. Picture: Liam Kidston.

The report overall makes some reasonable recommendations, especially around encouraging more women into the QPS, but the references to “white men” traits strike a decidedly bum note.

In society, we rely on the ‘good guys’ in so many ways.

You know, the men who, along with female colleagues, build our roads, drive our trucks, get the electricity back on when an incident causes an outage, like the exceptional Energex staff that got power back to the northern Gold Coast after the Christmas night tornado.

Do the men in these crews carry certain male traits with them? Perhaps, but they are not all bad – and it is the good ones we should be thankful for.

Rather spectacularly, given the beach and boating culture in places like the Gold Coast and the frequent flooding that affects this state, among the recommendations in the Human Rights Commission report was the suggestion that a requirement for new recruits be able to swim 100m unaided should be reconsidered.

Why? Because “people who were born in, or grew up in, landlocked countries have less ability to swim than those who grew up in Australia”.

Meaning requiring recruits to be able to swim well might affect recruitment of people from diverse backgrounds.

So what do we do, add floaties to officers’ kit?

There are many times that old-school frontline police – with their “traditional” skills and attributes – are exactly what is needed.

The report also suggests that “physical entry requirements can be a significant barrier faced by women police applicants”.

“These tests are designed to replicate the physical tasks required of police work, but some are based on rare critical incidents rather than the majority of police work, which involves skills including report writing, conflict resolution and communicating verbally with members of the public,” the report states.

The trouble is, of course, “rare critical incidents” often have life or death outcomes. They’re the incidents when we need our police officers most.

Look, it’s not the world’s greatest secret that there are have been some staff issues inside the Queensland Police Service. That some attitudes need to change.

It’s a big organisation, and all big organisations will grapple with these issues.

Though, given the grim history of domestic violence in this city, clearly attitudes at the QPS must be impeccable.

Nobody could argue, either, that policing, like many industries, needs to attract and retain more female staff.

As Commissioner Steve Gollschewski noted on Tuesday, the force has a major issue in this area. Traditionally, about 30 per cent of sworn officers were women, but among new recruits that number has dropped closer to 20.

That should certainly set alarm bells ringing and it has, with the Commissioner promising the organisation is “committed to the change we need in spades”.

However, as someone who has, through his work, attended many crime scenes, spoken to many officers and observed the work they do, this columnist can’t help feeling there is a heck of a lot said about the supposed failings of the QPS, and not nearly enough about the successes.

The work done by so many frontline officers is extraordinary.

The women of the Queensland Police Service, and yes, the men. The good guys.

Follow @keithjwoods