Exhaustive Notes on Racism and Cultural Capability in the Queensland Police Service
Overview of Racism and Cultural Issues in the QPS
Definition of Racism: For the purposes of the Commission, racism is defined as the behaviors, practices, beliefs, and prejudices that underlie inequalities based on race, ethnicity, or culture.
General Findings: Material considered by the Commission indicates that racism within the Queensland Police Service (QPS) is a significant cultural issue.
Impact on Service: Evidence shows a direct connection between racism and inadequate responses to calls for service involving First Nations peoples, particularly regarding domestic and family violence (DFV).
Leadership Failures: There is a failure by senior QPS leadership to consistently support First Nations officers who disclose experiences of racism or seek organizational change.
Recognition of Efforts: The Commission acknowledges recent efforts by the QPS to address these issues, including initiatives to improve relationships with First Nations communities, though these must be prioritized to enhance cultural safety.
Documented Instances of Racist Language and Attitudes
Violent Metaphors and Suggestions: Members reported hearing colleagues suggest extreme violence toward First Nations communities, such as:
"We should just napalm Aurukun."
"We should drop a bomb on Yarry (Yarrabah) and the communities. Problem solved."
Derogatory Remarks regarding Inclusion:
Assertions that the QPS is just "ticking the black fella box."
Referring to First Nations members or tokens used during NAIDOC as "black shiny shinys" specifically for Workplace photos.
Commands to "get the black fellas off my esplanade" because they were distractors/eyesores.
Verbatim Racial Slurs: Use of highly offensive language including "Black cunts," "Stupid black cunts," "Dumb black cunts," "Smelly black cunts," and "coon lover."
Prejudice against Police Liaison Officers (PLOs):
Refusal to work with PLOs: "We should sack all the PLOs and put the money into more police."
Hostility regarding shared space: "We don’t want to be in the car with the PLOs because then we can’t talk shit about black fellas."
Stereotyping based on hygiene: Claims that PLOs would "stink out" cars and "stink like parkies."
Racism within the Queensland Police Service Academy
Early Exposure: Racism in the QPS often begins during induction training at the Academy. First Nations recruits, a small cohort, are frequently subjected to bullying.
Civilian Facilitator Incident: One member witnessed a civilian facilitator bullying recruits for more than five years. Complaints to a Senior Sergeant and Inspector were "swept under the carpet."
The facilitator targeted First Nations and gay/lesbian recruits.
Despite an investigation involving six recruits making formal complaints, the conduct continued without consequences.
Academy Staff Conduct: In late 2021, the Commission obtained a recording of a Sergeant/facilitator telling recruits: "You can smell them before you see them" in reference to First Nations peoples.
Impunity and Values: The Commission noted this statement was made in a formal setting in a "blatant, yet casual way," suggesting that such racism is tolerated by the organization and influences the values recruits adopt.
Systematic Career-Long Experiences of Racism
Historical and Genocide References: A non-First Nations officer in North Queensland remarked in front of a PLO that "Tasmania got it right" regarding genocide.
Excrement Metaphors: A member reported officers referring to using the toilet as "going to drop some ATSI's off at the pool."
Mass Incarceration Rhetoric: A Constable suggested rounding people up, putting them in cattle trucks, and sending them to the Northern Territory (NT) with a fence around them.
Australia Day Incident: At a regional BBQ, an officer responded to a "Happy Invasion Day" greeting by saying, "Don’t wave that blackfulla shit around me… you’re just acting like a typical abo."
Ceremonial Disrespect: An Officer in Charge (OIC) responded to a request for a Welcome to Country by saying, "Yeah, but we’ll have to have a proper Abo do it."
Canteen Culture: Superintendent Kerry Johnson described "canteen culture" as the lower-level general chat in meal rooms (e.g., "the blacks down at Smith Street have been playing up again"). While participants might think it is harmless slang, it is deeply offensive to First Nations and multicultural members.
Inadequate Disciplinary Responses: Local Management Resolution (LMR)
Misuse of LMR: LMR is intended for minor errors and genuine mistakes. However, the QPS frequently uses it for racist conduct, which failure to support victims or signal that racism is intolerable.
Examples of Inappropriate LMR Use:
2020: A Senior Sergeant calling a First Nations female officer a "smelly old dugong."
March 2022: A Senior Constable using a fake First Nations accent while conducting an Acknowledgment of Country.
April 2022: A staff member asking if a colleague was taking "the boong car" in front of a youth co-responder.
November 2021 Facebook Group: A Senior Constable posted a picture of a dark-skinned baby with the caption "Baby dreaming about being arrested like his father" and a video of a naked First Nations woman. No action was taken against the officer.
Consequences of Inaction: Failure to act reinforces societal biases and discourages victims from reporting future incidents.
The Treatment and Ostracization of Police Liaison Officers (PLOs)
Value of PLOs: PLOs provide cultural expertise and community relationships, yet many feel excluded and disrespected.
The "Police Left Overs" Label: Members reported that the acronym PLO is colloquially used to mean "Police Left Overs."
Institutional Neglect: PLOs report being ignored during culturally specific jobs and not consulted on Domestic Violence (DV) matters, despite their role being to educate police on cultural issues.
Abuse by Supervisors:
In 2021, an OIC of a Cross Cultural Liaison office (supervising 13 PLOs) was investigated for 10 allegations of bullying.
Findings included "significant, identified and corroborated instances of abuse," including threats to livelihoods and obscene language.
The OIC told staff, "if it wasn’t for me, you’d still be driving a taxi."
Despite the Ethical Standards Command identifying this as Misconduct, the Office of State Discipline referred it back for LMR.
Racial Vilification: An OIC in South-East Queensland told a PLO, "If you don’t like it, go and live under the bridge with the rest of your kind."
The Loss of First Nations Personnel and Leadership Deficit
Retention Crisis: Numerous First Nations, CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse), and POC (People of Colour) police have left the service due to the racist environment and lack of cultural safety.
Leadership Statistics:
The QPS has approximately Commissioned officers (Inspector to Commissioner level); all are currently white.
There are only six officers at the rank of Inspector who identify as First Nations, and none above.
Historically, only five self-identified Indigenous persons have ever attained the rank of Inspector in QPS history.
Resignation Case Study: A First Nations Sergeant with 26 years of service resigned in 2022, citing "cultural fatigue/burnout."
In 2020, he met with Commissioner Katarina Carroll to discuss racism; by 2022, he felt nothing had changed.
He described racism as an "organisational cultural norm" presenting in both micro and macro aggressions.
Factors Inhibiting Organizational Change
Culture of Fear: A "culture of fear and silence" prevents complaints. Officers fear being perceived as a "dog" by colleagues or facing career retribution.
Complaint System Limitations: The QPS lacks a unique code to identify race-based complaints, making it impossible to accurately monitor the scale of the problem.
The "In No Way Racist" Statement: In September 2020, following the death of a First Nations woman in custody, Commissioner Carroll told the media the QPS was "in no way racist."
This statement occurred just one month after she met with First Nations officers who shared their traumatic experiences of racism.
The Commissioner later admitted she should have said the organization "as a whole" is not racist, acknowledging she has racist people in the organization.
Case Study: Racial Profiling of an Internal Member:
In early 2021, an off-duty First Nations Senior Constable was stopped by police while walking home and accused of "breaking into cars and houses."
When she later worked at the same station as the officers, her OIC told her to "forget about it." The Ethical Standards Command determined the allegations were not capable of being substantiated.
Evaluation of Cultural Capability Initiatives
First Nations Reference Group (FNRG): Established in September 2021 to advise the Commissioner. However, meetings were delayed, leadership engagement was lacking, and inaccurate statements were made about the group's selection process.
First Nations and Multicultural Affairs Unit (FNMAU):
A review found the unit was not well organized or governed.
70% of staff are in temporary positions, leading to a "revolving door" of leadership (one member had five different superintendents).
Staffing Issues: Only one position in the unit is an identified First Nations position.
Planning Gaps: The QPS Cultural Capability Plan (May 2021) has no achievement timeframes. There is currently no QPS-specific Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
Findings and Recommendations of the Commission
Findings:
Racism is a significant problem in the QPS and a breach of human rights.
Responses to racist conduct have been inconsistent and inappropriate (specifically through LMR).
The organization has failed to provide a culturally safe workplace.
FNMAU and FNRG effectiveness is constrained by structure and resourcing.
Key Recommendations:
Recommendation 44: Establish a complaint code for allegations of racism within six months.
Recommendation 45: Within three months, elevate the FNRG (co-chaired by a community member, meeting every three months, reporting directly to the Executive Leadership Team).
Recommendation 46: Separate the FNMAU into two distinct units: First Nations Unit and Multicultural Affairs Unit within 12 months.
Recommendation 47: Make the First Nations Unit permanent, with positions transitioned to permanent status and reflective resourcing.
Recommendation 48: Explicitly commit to culturally safe policing by developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) within 12 months.