NCJ Number
234251
Date Published
December 2010
Length
191 pages
Annotation
After reviewing processes for managing police discipline and misconduct in Queensland (Australia), this report recommends ways to strengthen the police discipline system.
Abstract
The current Queensland Police Service (QPS) discipline system is set within a legislative framework principally governed by the Police Service Administration Act 1990 and the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001. This statutorily based framework is supported by a number of internal policy documents. The system consists of principles and rules about the appropriate standards of conduct and behavior expected of police officers and processes for identifying and dealing with any failure to meet the expected standards. These include a complaints management process and a disciplinary process. Within the QPS, the Ethical Standards Command manages the internal discipline process and is responsible for promoting ethical behavior and professional practice. When a complaint about police behavior enters the system, it is processed through the five principal steps of assessment, inquiry, action, outcome, and review. Both the QPS and the Crime and Misconduct Commission have roles and responsibilities in this process. The Queensland Government has decided to develop a single code of conduct for the Queensland public sector, which includes the QPS; however, under this new code, it is intended that agencies prepare their own "standard of practice," which incorporates additional standards of conduct and behavior particular to the agency. This gives the QPS an opportunity to address problems identified in its current code of conduct through the development of a supplementary standard of practice. After critiquing the current QPS Code of Conduct, this report offers 11 recommendations for how the current code can be improved. 15 figures, 4 tables, 32 references, and appended Commissioner's circular, QPS code of conduct, complaints assessed by QPS as "interwoven with court," reviews and inquires that have influenced the QPS discipline system, and case studies on the New South Wales Commissioner's loss-of-confidence provisions