The Queensland government has acknowledged victims “may be disappointed” by revelations that hundreds of disciplinary sanctions against police officers could be invalidated by a ruling of the state’s court of appeal.
The court last week found that disciplinary proceedings against two police officers – Det Sen Sgt David Cousins and Sgt William Johnson – had been brought incorrectly and were “invalid”. The court heard that a delegate for the police commissioner failed to appoint a specific officer to act as the “prescribed officer” after referring the allegations to the office of state discipline.
As revealed by Guardian Australia, sources with the Queensland police service (QPS) fear the ruling could have far-reaching consequences and lead to hundreds of officers being let off the hook, including for serious issues of misconduct.
On Wednesday the police minister, Mark Ryan, conceded some may be “disappointed” by the decision and said the government’s primary concern was “the welfare of victims”.
“While people, including some victims, may be disappointed with the court’s decision, the police service has provided assurances that it will provide all possible supports to affected parties and will manage any matters moving forward on a case-by-case basis,” Ryan said.
Ryan said the government “expects” the police service to comply with the law and apply its discipline system “robustly but fairly”.
“The court of appeal’s decision relates to a technical interpretation point which the police service has already addressed and corrected,” he said.
The state’s police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, had previously said the police disciplinary system was “broken” during last year’s commission of inquiry into Queensland police responses to domestic violence.
The inquiry heard the state’s corruption watchdog, the Crime and Corruption Commission, investigated less than 1% of complaints about police, and routinely referred matters of misconduct and corruption back to the police force for review.
Tim Prenzler, a professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s school of law, said Queensland’s police complaints system largely resembled an internal affairs model where the vast majority of complaints were dealt with by police.
“State politicians just haven’t grasped the issues,” Prenzler said.
In 2019 the state government repealed the police discipline system set up after the Fitzgerald inquiry. The new system is “less punitive” and encourages the use of “management strategies” rather than formal sanctions for police misconduct and misbehaviour.
Ryan said it was “important to note that the design of the police discipline system was led by the Crime and Corruption Commission and has bipartisan support”.
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Carroll on Tuesday sent an email to all police staff referring to the decision.
“I acknowledge this news will be very difficult for some members of our organisation to understand and accept, and I want to encourage you to seek support if needed,” she wrote.
A police spokesperson said the QPS was “reviewing all discipline matters which may be impacted as a result of a recent court of appeal decision”.
“Among other matters, the [independent assessment committee] will carefully consider options in respect of members who had been separated from a particular workplace in consideration of the safety and wellbeing of all members,” a statement said.
“The QPS is conscious that victims associated with affected matters will be impacted and information and support will be offered.
“The service will continue to exhaust all available options to ensure that complaints are adequately dealt with.”
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