Almost half of Queenslanders don't believe police are honest, report finds

The Queensland Police Service has failed to reach any of its goals related to public perception of police integrity over the past year, with some metrics falling.

The QPS's annual report has been tabled in state parliament and includes data on how the public views police professionalism and honesty, as well as trust and equality. 

The data on public views of integrity is based on the National Survey of Community Satisfaction with Policing (NSCSP), which surveyed 20,811 people aged 18 and over across the country.

The data has revealed only 55.9 per cent of Queenslanders think police officers are honest, almost 20 per cent below the service's goal of 75 per cent.

Aiming for a benchmark of 75 per cent, the service found only 65.9 per cent of people said they trusted police. 

The service also badly missed its 75 per cent goal on public perception of fairness and equality, with only 52.3 per cent of Queenslanders agreeing police officers "treat people fairly and equally".

With goals of 85 per cent, the report found 68.6 per cent think police perform their job professionally, and 63.8 per cent said they have confidence in the police.

Integrity unit still in development

Police minister Dan Purdie did not respond to specific questions but pinned the blame on the former Labor government.

"The former government never backed or supported police, and Steven Miles and Labor's continued failure to back our stronger laws and greater support for frontline officers makes that clear," he said.

The independent police integrity unit was a significant recommendation from the commission of inquiry into how the QPS responds to domestic violence, handed to the former government in May 2023.

The unit was recommended to sit within the corruption watchdog to bolster accountability and trust in the police service.

In May, Crime and Corruption Commission chair Bruce Barbour criticised what he called a "somewhat frustrating" three-year delay in establishing the unit.

Attorney-general Deb Frecklington did not comment on the missed integrity targets but said the government "continues to consider the implementation of a police integrity unit after Labor spent years sitting on their hands and failing to take any action".

She did not say when the unit would be active.

Unclear how metric will be measured in future

The measure forms part of the QPS's key performance metrics, and this year fell under the category "discontinued measures".

The report stated the specific service standard would not be measured in the next financial year due to "state and federal state and territory police agencies agreeing not to extend the National Survey of Community Satisfaction with Policing (NSCSP) contract beyond 30 June 2026".

A spokesperson for QPS said the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) Board, which is responsible for the NSCSP, had decided to discontinue the survey in collaboration with state and federal police agencies including QPS.

"The QPS is working with ANZPAA on alternative options," the spokesperson said. 

"Complaints from members of the public against sworn officers will continue to be tracked as part of the Report on Government Services."

The state opposition and the Queensland Police Union were contacted for comment.