Police officers are set to talk about training as hearings continue in the inquiry into Queensland Police’s response to domestic and family violence.
Judge Deborah Richards is heading the independent commission announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in response to the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce recommendations.
Public hearings will be held over five weeks throughout Queensland.
They started in Brisbane on Monday with Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd telling the inquiry a link between stressed and unsatisfied officers and community members who are dissatisfied with police responses to domestic and family violence was likely.
There were various things he thought impacted on attitudes, beliefs and sometimes performance and this included the “sheer demand” of services.
“They (officers) tell me, nearly every time I speak to them, about feeling so fatigued,” he said.
A senior constable from Logan – where 25,000 to 30,000 domestic violence cases could be reported a year – told him last week a single shift could involve going to five such incidents.
“At the end of the shift she’ll go home at night and cannot sleep for worrying about whether she was able to provide as good a service as she wants to and whether she misses something,” Asst Comm Codd said.
Six police officers are expected to take the stand on Tuesday to talk about domestic and family violence training for recruits, first year constables and general duties officers.
This week hearings will examine the capability, capacity and structure of the Queensland Police Service’s response to domestic and family violence.
The experiences and observations of regional and Indigenous police officers, legal representatives and community support workers will be the focus later.
Experts on topics related to the policing of domestic and family violence will also be called.
Hearings will be held in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Mount Isa.
The commission, which has a budget of $3.4 million, began work on May 30 and is expected to report by October 4.
It will consider but not investigate or make findings about individual cases because of the focus on systemic issues and the inquiry’s limited time frame.
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