HOW CRIME IS RISING IN QUEENSLAND AND HOW POLICE CAN RESPOND BETTER
WHAT IS THE SITUATION?
* Reported crime has risen 10 per cent overall between 2014/15 and 2018/19.
* Clearing rate fell seven per cent, even though police dealt with a higher volume of offences.
* Policelink fielding 145,000 calls, emails and digital requests per month in 2019.
* About 43 per cent of calls to police were not responded to.
* Regional Commands in particular are facing growing demand without capability to respond.
* Rising demand overall is putting strain the mental health of police staff.
WHY ARE POLICE SO SWAMPED?
* Frontline police are having to do more administrative and support work due to 500 unsworn staff being cut in 2012 and 2013.
* Calls to police surged 48 per cent in the four years to 2019, but most calls are unrelated to crime.
* Switch to Central Function Model has made policing, staffing and resourcing less efficient.
HOW CAN THE SITUATION BE FIXED?
* Reducing the number of Police Commands from nine to six or seven.
* Reassessing all police districts outside Brisbane and possibly remapping them.
* Consolidating all cultural change activities into a single program.
* Redesigning health and wellbeing structures and processes.
* Moving the Community Contact Command into the Regional Operations portfolio.
* Redesigning Policelink and Contact Centres to better cope with demand and optimise engagement.
(Source: Queensland Police Service Strategic Review 2019)
