Latest news with #QPS
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Domestic violence case management not ‘core business' of police, Queensland's top cop says
Domestic violence case management is not the 'core business' of policing, and other agencies should take on greater roles in this, Queensland's acting police commissioner says. The Queensland police service on Tuesday released a 100-day review of its operations and structure, finding that the police have been the victim of 'significant mission creep', with officers increasingly tasked with non-core functions such as mental health response, domestic and family violence case management, and prisoner transport. At a press conference on Tuesday morning – before the report was made public – the acting police commissioner, Shane Chelepy, said the state had seen the 'fundamental role of policing changing to [addressing] societal issues'. 'If you look at domestic and family violence and mental health issues and other social issues, our role of policing has expanded into those societal and social issues. What this report says is that's very important, but police are not the ones who are trained to do that,' he said. Chelepy said the police force needed to better define where its role starts and stops. Asked if parts of the response to domestic violence or mental health crises were outside 'core business', he said that police would still attend callouts, but would seek a clearer referral process to other agencies 'once we've done our job and kept the community safe'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email He said there should be a greater role for 'wraparound services to reduce that repeat calls for service that we see'. 'The reality is, police are there to do policing. We're there to keep the community safe … there's a time in that response where the best support to be provided to the member of the public is through a specialist of another organisation, not a police officer.' The police minister, Dan Purdie, a former cop, said shifting resources back to crime detection and prevention would help QPS 'refocus on their core priorities of fighting crime'. 'I look forward to working with the other ministers and those departments through cabinet, and likewise, to build better systems to help our police refocus their attention on fighting crime,' he said. 'We need to build that capacity.' Purdie said the government was already making investments in other agencies to pick up the slack. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'Whether it's child safety issues or mental health issues our police cannot arrest their way out of that problem,' he said. The government recently introduced legislation into parliament to reduce the paperwork burden on police responding to domestic violence incidents – which are widely understood to represent a large proportion of their time on duty. If passed the laws would permit police to issue an on-the-spot order to an alleged domestic violence offender, a proposal that some experts fear could put vulnerable women at greater risk of harm. Queensland police commissioned officers union president, Kerry Johnson, and Queensland police union president, Shane Prior, welcomed the findings of the report, at the Tuesday morning press conference. 'I want to see places like child safety actually doing a 24/7 roster, much like police do,' Prior said. 'I want the Department of Health to actually start dealing with this mental health issue that we've got in society and not be left at the feet of police. Things have got to change.' The report makes 65 recommendations. Chelepy said they include reducing the size of the police executive leadership team from 44 to 26 and a reduction of the senior executive. No jobs would be lost in the change, he said. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Mental health support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. Other international helplines can be found via
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Queensland Police Service 100-day review finds officers 'suffering burnout'
Queensland police officers are "stretched", "fatigued" and "suffering burnout" with many doing jobs of other government departments instead of protecting the community, a major review has found. The Queensland Police Service (QPS) has handed down its 100-day review into its workforce which contained 65 recommendations. Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy said the review found staff were overworked and needed more support on the frontline. "This year we will see our staff attending to over 60,000 mental health calls for service. "That's in addition to the work that our staff do every day in keeping the community safe by arresting offenders and attending to calls for service." Acting Commissioner Chelepy said the review provided an "honest assessment" of the organisation and he accepted each of the recommendations. He said a key recommendation of the report is to restructure the QPS to allow frontline officers to have greater access to welfare and mental health support services. Under the proposed changes frontline officers will also have more autonomy to make decisions. "Decisions that affect the frontline and the decisions that affect the way that we deliver our policing services in our regions and in our stations shouldn't be made by Brisbane," Acting Commissioner Chelepy said. The review also found need to "realign the organisation" to focus on its core business of policing and keeping the community safe. "It finds that we're doing jobs that we shouldn't be doing," Acting Commissioner Chelepy said. "There's functions here where we have highly trained, very important, paid, sworn police officers doing that they don't need police powers to do." Under the restructure, the executive leadership team will also be scaled back, with resources rediverted to support its frontline staff. Acting Commissioner Chelepy said while it could take years to implement all of the recommendations, he conceded the issues facing officers are not unique to Queensland. "This is something that all police commissioners in Australia are grappling with… in fact, if you go into the UK you will see that these are also things that the UK have been dealing with." The review was conducted by the QPS commission and internal review team. There were more than 500 submissions made by police and 170 engagement focus groups and roundtables were conducted. Police Minister Dan Purdie said the government would work with the QPS to deliver its recommendations. "We need to return our police back to being a world class policing organisation and this report is the first step in doing that," he said. Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior said the review showed the force had "lost its way" due to significant job creep. "Police in this state are doing every other government department's job," he said. Mr Prior said he wanted the role of police in transporting and guarding prisoners to be limited. He told ABC Radio Brisbane the current situation was putting the community in danger because police were unable to attend the "jobs [they] need to". For example, he said at any one time, there could be up to 200 unresolved jobs in places like Logan that officers simply could not get to.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Man, 57, found dead in home at Warana in Sunshine Coast region
A man has been found dead inside a home in Queensland's Sunshine Coast region. The 57-year-old was found at a home on Napelle St in Warana at about 7.30pm on Monday. Police and paramedics were called to the scene following reports a man had collapsed, a Queensland Police Service spokesperson said in a statement. 'The man was found non-responsive and declared dead at the scene,' they said. 'A crime scene has been declared as investigations into the circumstances of his death continue. 'Anyone with information is urged to contact police.'
International Business Times
07-07-2025
- International Business Times
Woman Loses Arm After Being Attacked by Lion at Queensland Zoo
A woman has sustained severe injuries to an arm when she was attacked by a lion at an Australian zoo. The Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland said the 50-year-old woman was watching animal keepers working in the zoo's carnivore precinct before opening hours Sunday morning when she was attacked. The Woman is Now in Stable Condition She was flown by helicopter from the rural town of Pilton to the state capital Brisbane where she underwent surgery. Her condition was stable, the zoo said in a statement Sunday. Several news media reported the woman lost the injured arm. The zoo said staff were working with government workplace safety investigators to determine how the incident happened. The state government confirmed an investigation was underway. "Inexplicably, at this stage, one animal grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it," the zoo statement said. "At no stage did this animal leave its enclosure and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public." Woman was Known to Zoo Staff, Had Worked with the Lion for More than Two Decades The woman had worked with the animal for more than 20 years and was known to zoo staff. The zoo said in a social media post on Sunday that the woman - described as a "much-loved member of our family" - had been observing keepers working when the incident occurred. "This is something that she has done many, many times over the past 20 years, " the zoo noted in its statement. "She is well-versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals. "Police and Workplace Health and Safety personnel are investigating this incident and have been onsite all morning. The zoo is working with them to establish how this incident occurred but the full details will not be known until (the woman) can be interviewed," the statement continued. "We are extremely grateful to the QAS, QPS and LifeFlight for their prompt attendance and to all of the people and organisations who have rallied round us with messages of support." The zoo was closed on Sunday and is due to re-open on Tuesday. Another follow-up post indicated the woman was not a keeper or an immediate family member of the owners, and also asserted the animal "will definitely not be put down or punished in any way." Zoo Recently Promoted Supervised Encounters with Its Lionesses Recently, the zoo promoted supervised encounters with its lionesses on social media. "Each day at 10am they are on supervised display to our visitors and are also available for some personalised encounters," the zoo shared. "These encounters are strictly monitored to ensure their enjoyment of them and their wellbeing. "Every cent of the money that they raise goes into a fund to build an expanded multi pride lion complex to cater for the needs of our enlarged lion family."
The Advertiser
17-06-2025
- The Advertiser
Teenager busted for driving through fatal crash scene in unregistered Commodore
An 18-year-old who chose to drive through a fatal crash scene, forcing police officers to dash out of the way, has been arrested. Instead of doing a U-turn, the driver allegedly drove through the scene of a fatal crash at Fernvale Road in Brassall west of Brisbane at around 1:40am on Sunday (June 15). The Queensland Police Service alleges the driver of the Holden VE Commodore ute narrowly missed Forensic Crash Unit officers as well as personnel from other agencies. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Footage shared by the QPS shows the vehicle passing over debris on the road and travelling right past the crash scene at what appears to be a high rate of speed without stopping. The QPS says that following subsequent investigations, officers attended a Rowland Terrace, Coalfall address on Sunday, when it located the vehicle and arrested its driver. He has been charged with driving a motor vehicle without a licence, driving without a number plate attached, and endangering a police officer while driving a motor vehicle. The 18-year-old was remanded in custody and will face Ipswich Magistrates Court on June 18. Content originally sourced from: An 18-year-old who chose to drive through a fatal crash scene, forcing police officers to dash out of the way, has been arrested. Instead of doing a U-turn, the driver allegedly drove through the scene of a fatal crash at Fernvale Road in Brassall west of Brisbane at around 1:40am on Sunday (June 15). The Queensland Police Service alleges the driver of the Holden VE Commodore ute narrowly missed Forensic Crash Unit officers as well as personnel from other agencies. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Footage shared by the QPS shows the vehicle passing over debris on the road and travelling right past the crash scene at what appears to be a high rate of speed without stopping. The QPS says that following subsequent investigations, officers attended a Rowland Terrace, Coalfall address on Sunday, when it located the vehicle and arrested its driver. He has been charged with driving a motor vehicle without a licence, driving without a number plate attached, and endangering a police officer while driving a motor vehicle. The 18-year-old was remanded in custody and will face Ipswich Magistrates Court on June 18. Content originally sourced from: An 18-year-old who chose to drive through a fatal crash scene, forcing police officers to dash out of the way, has been arrested. Instead of doing a U-turn, the driver allegedly drove through the scene of a fatal crash at Fernvale Road in Brassall west of Brisbane at around 1:40am on Sunday (June 15). The Queensland Police Service alleges the driver of the Holden VE Commodore ute narrowly missed Forensic Crash Unit officers as well as personnel from other agencies. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Footage shared by the QPS shows the vehicle passing over debris on the road and travelling right past the crash scene at what appears to be a high rate of speed without stopping. The QPS says that following subsequent investigations, officers attended a Rowland Terrace, Coalfall address on Sunday, when it located the vehicle and arrested its driver. He has been charged with driving a motor vehicle without a licence, driving without a number plate attached, and endangering a police officer while driving a motor vehicle. The 18-year-old was remanded in custody and will face Ipswich Magistrates Court on June 18. Content originally sourced from: An 18-year-old who chose to drive through a fatal crash scene, forcing police officers to dash out of the way, has been arrested. Instead of doing a U-turn, the driver allegedly drove through the scene of a fatal crash at Fernvale Road in Brassall west of Brisbane at around 1:40am on Sunday (June 15). The Queensland Police Service alleges the driver of the Holden VE Commodore ute narrowly missed Forensic Crash Unit officers as well as personnel from other agencies. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Footage shared by the QPS shows the vehicle passing over debris on the road and travelling right past the crash scene at what appears to be a high rate of speed without stopping. The QPS says that following subsequent investigations, officers attended a Rowland Terrace, Coalfall address on Sunday, when it located the vehicle and arrested its driver. He has been charged with driving a motor vehicle without a licence, driving without a number plate attached, and endangering a police officer while driving a motor vehicle. The 18-year-old was remanded in custody and will face Ipswich Magistrates Court on June 18. Content originally sourced from:
