Key corruption risks and enablers

Below are some of the main activities or functions vulnerable to corruption (or perceptions of it) within the Queensland Police Service, based on trends and themes in complaints received by the CCC. Note: This is not an exhaustive list of all activities or work functions which may be vulnerable to fraud and corruption. 

Police officers are often in frontline roles acting as first responders to calls for service. They are also entrusted with significant powers, equipment and access to information to maintain public safety, which can expose risks associated with the misuse of information, misuse of authority and failure of duty.

• Inappropriate exercise of operational discretion: This involves officers failing to exercise their lawful discretion appropriately, including unnecessarily or inappropriately arresting a person; failing to produce a warrant or provide a reason for an arrest; conducting a search unnecessarily or in inappropriate conditions; or improperly refusing to grant bail. 
• Responses to incidents: This includes concerns about the exercise of powers; responses to alleged domestic violence incidents; misuse of or failure to use body worn cameras; rude or dismissive language; or issues with the accuracy of reports or statements.
  Investigations: Including not filing affidavits; failing to contact or update victims; not fully briefing supervisors; missing court appearances; and not acting within the statute of limitation period.
• Behaviours unrelated to a work function: This includes criminal offending and behaviours such as breaching court orders; maintaining criminal associations; sexual harassment or sexual offences; fraud; stalking; use, supply or trafficking of illicit substances; intimidation, coercion, threats or actual physical violence or assault.
• Arrests and detention: Including use of force that may result in injuries to alleged offenders during arrests; unlawful arrests or detention; concerns about the misuse of or failure to use body worn cameras; and inappropriate use of restraint techniques.
• Information control and management: This includes the inappropriate sharing of body worn camera footage; accessing and sharing information held on police systems; disclosing the details of victims or witnesses to alleged offenders,

QPS staff members undertake a range of duties and typically have different responsibilities to sworn police officers. However, they share some risks in common with sworn police officers, particularly staff members who work in watchhouses or police facilities and have direct interactions with detainees, offenders and members of the public.

Key risk areas for staff members include:

• Responses to incidents and service delivery: This includes poor treatment of alleged offenders on arrival at watchhouses; unprofessional, rude or dismissive behaviours by staff at police station front desks; and incidents reported to Policelink (a service for reporting non-urgent matters) not being recorded.
• Investigations: This includes failing to prepare documents for court or providing false statements.
  Arrests and detention: Including injuries to detainees; harassment and intimidation; inappropriate use of restraint techniques by watchhouse officers.
• Custodial duties: This includes failing to provide medical care; causing injuries to persons in custody; falsifying supervision and care records; and not correctly recording and storing detainees’ property.
  Prosecution: Including concerns about the veracity of statements, reports and affidavits; failing to provide updates to victims; and breaching professional obligations.
• Information control and management: Including accessing or disclosing official information without a legitimate reason; unintentionally disclosing official information; falsifying information or records; acquiring or retaining information or records illegally; or inadequately safeguarding information.
• Human resource management: This includes being absent from duty; poorly managed conflicts of interest or interference in employment decisions (such as the recruitment, promotion or termination of employees); misuse of allowances or entitlements; and matters relating to conduct or discipline, including interfering with or undermining investigations by providing false information, statements or complaints.
• Management or misuse of public assets and resources: Including asset and financial management, such as overseeing financial transactions and assets, acquiring goods or services; procuring consumables, capital equipment, ICT equipment, real property, infrastructure and services; facilities management; misuse of public funds, resources or facilities; and the outsourcing of functions and subsequent contracting.

• Declarable associations and conflicts of interest: Failing to declare and appropriately manage conflicts of interest and associations can expose risks around compromised investigations, the release of confidential information and perceived or actual bias or favouritism. 
• Work pressure and demands: Recent reviews and inquiries have highlighted widespread fatigue, burnout and psychological stress impacting QPS employees, exacerbated by an increasing demand for police assistance. High levels of burnout coupled with increasing pressure and work demands can heighten risks associated with failing to respond to incidents, excessive use of force, and interactions which may not meet community standards.
• High-risk work environments: Police work in complex and often highly volatile work environments. QPS employees working in certain types of environments, such as watchhouses and entertainment precincts, and those who undertake certain roles (such as general duties and road policing, which have higher levels of interaction with the community, or officers in roles which have regular or protracted interactions with criminals) can be more susceptible to corruption. 
• Social and demographic trends: Police officers are required to attend a broad range of incidents. In protecting the safety of individuals and the community, they often deal with vulnerable persons, including young people, people experiencing mental health issues or affected by drugs and/or alcohol, as well as persons displaying anti-social, violent or aggressive behaviours. These can be dynamic and challenging situations, with a potential risk of harm to both the public and QPS members.
• Focus on particular types of offending: Changing community attitudes towards police, a focus on particular types of offending — such as domestic and family violence and youth crime — and relevant bail decisions result in more interactions between frontline workers and the public and contribute to increased arrests and issues associated with overcrowding of police watchhouses. 
• Attrition and resourcing gaps: Across the service, the attrition of sworn police officers has increased. At the same time, the number of new police recruits securing frontline roles has increased, as too has the number of officers separating within their first few years of service. High rates of attrition can result in resourcing gaps, increased workload pressures and demands, and a loss of corporate, legal and operational knowledge.

Our experience suggests that corruption risks in the Queensland Police Service can increase due to:

• Insufficient initial and ongoing training, including the use of body worn cameras, management of persons held in watchhouses and de-escalation techniques when arresting and detaining individuals.
• Inadequate practical guidance or training on the application of legislation and operational practices. 
• Problematic individual, workplace, team or station values or subcultures, particularly where these are reflected in engagement with the community or practices such as employee complaint handling practices, disciplinary processes and performance management.
• Limited risk awareness, oversight or ineffective mitigation of corruption risks, including the disclosure and management of declarable associations and conflicts of interest.
• High levels of discretion or authority in policing roles, particularly in activities such as responding to incidents, increasing the potential for the failure of duty, unprofessional conduct or assault/excessive use of force. 
• Poor supervision, oversight and performance management creating opportunities for wrongdoing to occur or go undetected, such as the inappropriate exercise of discretion, excessive use of force and misuse of public resources. 
• Lack of awareness of, or compliance with, whole-of-government processes and policies, leading to the misuse or mismanagement of public funds.
• Poor recordkeeping practices, including in recruitment processes and workforce management, reducing transparency and accountability, and increasing the risk of non-compliance with employment obligations or mishandling of information.