Police left powerless in state of lawlessness: Terry Goldsworthy
Each day in Queensland seems to bring a new tragedy with no end in sight for the state’s crime wave. We deserve better, and so do our officers, writes criminologist Terry Goldsworthy.
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Each day in Queensland seems to bring a new tragedy with no end in sight for the state’s crime wave. How did it get to this?
When I was a police officer and we chased stolen cars, the offenders would flee when we caught up to them.
Now they turn on the police and attack them and the police need to be rescued as happened in Townsville a couple of weeks ago.
This is the state of crime we now find ourselves facing in Queensland.
Such incidents are not isolated. Just months ago in Townsville, police vehicles were rammed and chased back to the Mundingburra police station, the alleged offenders in stolen vehicles blockaded the driveway to the station.
It was called a tactical withdrawal by senior police; I call it lawlessness.
The Queensland Police Commissioner, Katarina Carroll, promised to “… get to the bottom of this”. Hardly the reassuring words of a leader in control of the crime environment.
And, while this particular investigation is in its earlier days, just days ago we heard of a woman allegedly carjacked at knife point; the same car stolen car is then allegedly involved in traffic accident killing three people. In Maryborough alleged offenders in stolen vehicles drove past the police station taunting police just hours after three women were killed after being hit by a stolen car, allegedly being driven by a 13-year-old offender.
We live in a state of lawlessness.
People are right to be concerned and angry about the failure to deal with increasing crime.
In the last 12-month reporting period the crime rate for personal crime increased 45 per cent and property crime 12 per cent, yet police enforcement activity fell by 5 per cent.
National figures show that Queensland accounted for 27 per cent of car thefts for the nation, more than Victoria and NSW.
The priorities of the government in relation to crime issues could be described as confusing at best.
Recently the Police Minister, Mark Ryan, announced that police would be doing roadside testing for cocaine citing the number of serious crashes involving drivers who tested positive for cocaine has increased in the last five years.
Yet the same government has green-lighted drug use in Queensland by decriminalising ice, heroin and cocaine. You now get three free goes at these drugs before you a face a criminal charge.
This decision is even worse when you consider government youth crime data shows that 80 per cent of youth offenders have used at least one substance and 38 per cent of them have used ice or other methamphetamines.
And this is when youth offenders make up more than 50 per cent of offenders for stolen vehicles, break and enters and robberies, despite being only 18 per cent of offenders overall.
But where is the accountability for this poor performance?
The Premier has effectively given up on fighting crime stating that “no one is going to stop youth crime”. But it would not be unreasonable for the public to expect the government and commissioner to at least control it.
Where has the commissioner been held accountable for the poor performance on fighting crime?
Surely these are key performance indicators in her contract.
Add to this the findings of the commission of inquiry into QPS DV responses six months ago which found a “failure of leadership” that allowed cultural issues within the service to fester “unchecked” for years.
The inquiry into the failings of the Queensland DNA lab also highlighted the failure of Carroll to be across her brief which she attributed to being kept in the dark, “I understand there were briefings that did not quite make it to my office”.
There are now estimates it could take 12 years to clear the backlog of evidence that now needs to be tested.
Little wonder the leaked emails of senior veteran officers describe the lack of resources, the frustration of the public and a job demand so great that many go unanswered. The comment of one senior officer is haunting: “The QPS is asking too much of me … there are so many jobs and competing interests that I’m losing my mind.”
We owe our police better; they need better support, crucially they need better leadership, otherwise fighting crime in Queensland will continue down the path of lawlessness that we are now witnessing.
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