New police recruits could spend much of their time dealing with domestic violence
Straight out of high school, 18-year-old Queensland police officers may spend up to 40 per cent of their day dealing with domestic violence, an inquiry has been told.
Image: QPS
Fresh off an announcement that 17-year-olds will be able to apply to join the force, a probe into the police response to domestic and family violence is focusing on training and recruitment.
While potential new officers will still have to wait until they are 18 to begin training, acting assistant commissioner Mark Kelly said the force is trying to attract school leavers.
“I’m not sure how many applicants we’re actually going to get from that group but this just allows people to forward look past year 12 to start the application process,” he told the hearing in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Kelly agreed providing potential recruits with more information about the extent of time they will likely be dealing with domestic and family violence would be beneficial.
Lowering the age limit comes as Queensland prepares to introduce coercive control as a criminal offence next year.
It will mean behaviour such as isolating a partner from family and friends, monitoring their movements and controlling their access to money will be in the police’s remit.
Asked whether recruits who likely have limited personal experience with significant relationships would benefit from further training, Kelly said everyone should receive the same preparation.
“We can always train more, and … we should train everyone the same way,” he said.
Queensland police are aiming to increase staff numbers by more than 2000 by 2025, but Kelly said standards won’t suffer as a result.
“We need to make sure that we’re recruiting the best possible people to be police officers,” he said.
Judge Deborah Richards is heading the independent commission announced in response to the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce recommendations.
This week, hearings will examine the capability, capacity and structure of Queensland Police Service’s response to domestic and family violence.
Hearings will be held in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Mount Isa.
The commission, which has a budget of $3.4 million, began work on May 30 and is expected to report by October 4.
It will consider but not investigate or make findings about individual cases because of the focus on systemic issues and the inquiry’s limited time frame.
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