A landmark Queensland inquiry’s call for police to stop investigating police is being “watered down” in its implementation by the state’s corruption watchdog, according to those briefed on the new system.
The commission of inquiry into police responses to domestic violence last year found a “failure of leadership” had allowed a culture of sexism, racism, fear and silence to go unchecked within the Queensland Police Service (QPS).
One of the inquiry’s most significant recommendations was to establish a civilian police integrity unit in the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) within 18 months to “deal with all complaints” against officers.
The Queensland government initially accepted all 78 recommendations from the inquiry “in principle”, but later said a police integrity unit (PIU) would need further consideration, asking the CCC to take the lead on designing a system that also took into account the findings of last year’s Coaldrake review into the public service.
In April, the CCC organised for external consultants to run a high-level meeting to consider three possible police integrity models. In attendance were representatives from the CCC, Queensland police, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Queensland Treasury, the Queensland ombudsman, the Together Union and experts.
Guardian Australia understands that during the meeting the CCC and QPS expressed opposition to the model recommended by the inquiry, citing concerns about resourcing and government funding.
Instead, the CCC advocated a model in which the watchdog would investigate the most serious, “category A” complaints against officers.
“Category B” offences – which include theft, fraud, misconduct, discrimination, harassment, bullying and sexist, misogynistic, racist and homophobic behaviour – could be investigated by either police or the PIU. All “category C” offences would be investigated by police.
The QPS supported another model in which the police integrity unit would investigate the most serious complaints, and offences below that when a complaint came from the public, however matters lodged by fellow officers could still be referred back to QPS.
Guardian Australia spoke with three people who attended the meeting. Prof Tim Prenzler, who has 30 years of experience researching police accountability issues, said the CCC was trying to find support for a “substantially watered-down version of the police integrity unit”.
“At the inquiry, the CCC made an unequivocal commitment to implement the recommendations … prescribed by Commissioner Richards,” Prenzler said.
“Now it seems to be reneging on that commitment by trying to salvage as much of the old system as possible. This is the system of police investigating police, with limited oversight by the CCC, which the Richards commission and other reviews found to be a complete failure.”
The CCC currently investigates less than 1% of complaints against police officers, referring the majority of matters back to Queensland police for internal review.
Failures in the current police complaints system are such that one man accused of misconduct was initially tasked with investigating himself, the inquiry heard.
Betty Taylor, chief executive of domestic violence nonprofit the Red Rose Foundation, said she would be concerned if the inquiry’s recommendations were not adopted.
“We all held that commission of inquiry as groundbreaking in restoring the integrity within QPS and hoping to restore confidence for victims. I’d be really disappointed if that’s now going to be undermined,” she said.
The chief executive of Women’s Legal Service Queensland, Nadia Bromley, said the government and corruption watchdog needed to get the reform right.
“It’s a generational opportunity … to design a process that better protects Queenslanders.
“Any sort of movement away from the recommendations of the inquiry has to be demonstrably necessary because this is the best model.”
The CCC declined to comment when contacted by Guardian Australia. A spokesperson for the special coordinator for police and emergency services reform said the “formal Government response to the commission of inquiry is yet to be finalised”.
“Work is ongoing to address the recommendations, with collaboration across the QPS, department of justice and attorney-general, the Crime and Corruption Commission and the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Commission,” they said.
Prenzler said the inquiry had been “very conscious of the subversion of reform in the past” and that’s why they set up an explicit system for implementation led by the independent implementation commissioner, Cathy Taylor.
He said it was “confusing” and “concerning” that the government had later given the CCC the responsibility to coordinate the police unit recommendation.
“What’s important now is that the implementation commissioner step in to direct the CCC to properly establish the police integrity unit,” he said.
Despite the government’s earlier in principle support for the commission of inquiry’s recommendations, the premier in November said it was important to examine how the proposal “intersects” with the Coaldrake review.
The Coaldrake review recommended a government “clearing house”, where complaints could be assessed and referred elsewhere for further investigation.
In its own report, the commission of inquiry referred to that recommendation and concluded that a “clearing house” should not stymie the independence of its proposed PIU.
“If the Government establishes a public clearing house for complaints, with the exception of QPS service delivery issues, all complaints made to the clearing house and related to QPS members are to be forwarded by the clearing house to the PIU for resolution,” the report said.
