‘Not just a few bad apples’: Sexism, racism rife at Qld police, DV report finds

The Queensland Police Service will be restructured to stamp out a widespread culture of sexism, racism and misogyny, after a report said it wasn’t “just a few bad apples”.

The state government has promised to enact 77 recommendations in the report, handed down on Monday after a three-month Commission of Inquiry.

Judge Deborah Richards’ report found that sexism, racism and misogyny are a “significant problem” in the QPS.

Officers’ values, attitudes and biases are impacting domestic violence policing, and failing victims, police and the community, she wrote.

“Victim-survivors are turned away from stations and misidentified as perpetrators,” her report said.

“Police avoid domestic and family violence-related calls for service and do not undertake investigations to the expected standard.

Both sides of politics backed Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll to change police culture in Queensland.Credit: Matt Dennien

“The current response is not working – for victim-survivors, their children, or police. These issues are not isolated. There are not just a few bad apples.”

Richards has recommended more training for police, more officers and resources for DV policing, more liaison officers for DV, First Nations and LGBTI+ communities, and a number of independent police watchdogs.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the report “ripped the band-aid off”, and she’s promised to enact all 77 recommendations.

“These will be nation-leading reforms ... the commission of inquiry has put a spotlight on some dark places in the QPS, and ... identified cultural issues going back decades,” she told reporters.

Richards found that sexism, misogyny and racism were also significant problems for people working within the QPS.

Bullying, harassment and abuse in the force was under-reported, the report said, due to a culture of fear and silence among victims and witnesses.

Richards found the complaints system was biased towards officers being investigated and did not protect against serious misconduct or have community confidence.

“In this way, the conduct and complaints system is unfairly biased towards the officer facing investigation,” the report said.

“A disciplinary system where police investigate police, who are sometimes friends and workmates, simply does not result in a fair system.

Richards recommended a new independent Police Integrity Unit be established within the state’s Crime and Corruption Commission to probe all complaints about police.

A special domestic violence victims’ commissioner should be appointed to review victims’ complaints, the report said.

“Police are the gatekeepers to the justice system, and their response can reduce or prevent future violence for victim-survivors and their children, hold perpetrators to account and, at times, save lives,” the report said.

“If their response is performed poorly, it can embolden the perpetrator and drive the victim-survivor further away from help.

“It is essential that organisational structures are in place so officers can respond effectively to domestic and family violence, and that strong, independent systems are established to address any harmful cultural issues in the Queensland Police Service.”

– AAP