Gotowa bibliografia na temat „Queensland Police Service”

The preparation of recruit police officers has become an issue in those countries whose police services have evolved from the British model. In Australia, a variety of arrangements exist. These include education and training centred around police academies with academically qualified civilian and police staff, some of whom are academically qualified and others who are not, depending on the nature of their role. These academies are invariably, and not surprisingly, controlled by police officers. At the other end of the scale, the Australian Federal Police now has prospective recruits, who are not yet employees, in many Australian universities undergoing undergraduate studies. The aim being to recruit graduates. The Queensland Police Service has opted for a middle-of-the-road part university, part academy, approach as a means to satisfying as many perceived requirements as possible.

After 32 years of conservative rule, it was more than the Queensland government that changed on 7 December 1989 — it was the whole state of Queensland. Driving the reform process across a wide cross-section of government policy (and seeing Queenslanders respond) left a legacy of which we who formed part of that government are proud.In our first week in office, we purchased additional tertiary places for Queensland. This underlined our commitment to education and sent the signal that our government believed the future was ‘up the food chain’, and that we would therefore invest in education. We abolished the Special Branch of Queensland Police — a symbol of the misuse of the police service by the previous government. We also abolished imperial honours because we believed that Australia should have its own system of recognising our citizens.

Crime waves make great headlines, and can be an ongoing source of stories for news media. In this article, we track the news media promotion of the spectre of a crime wave at Queensland's Gold Coast and the interplay between politics and policy responses to the media campaign. By analysing news media reports, government, local government and police-documented responses, we explore how the media framed this crime wave and the politically driven policy responses that were disproportionate to the reported (statistical) level of crime. Despite attempts by the Queensland Police Service to defuse the claims of an out-of-control crime problem, followed by its attempts at managing community responses, the local news media continued their campaign with significant consequences. Our findings are important for those charged with publicly managing responses to media-driven crime waves.

The 1989 Fitzgerald Report into police and governmental corruption in Queensland has been a model for public sector reform in Australia. It is especially timely to consider the impact of those reforms in light of the current overhaul of the largest police agency in Australia, the New South Wales Police Service, and of continuing problems with public sector probity in other states. Queensland made significant advances in improving electoral and administrative processes, and creating external independent oversight of the police. Nonetheless, unforeseen gaps in the Fitzgerald agenda allowed reactionary forces to dilute the reform process. Three primary areas remain ‘unreconstructed’. Reform has not been firmly established from the top down, beginning with progressing the system of representative democracy and opening up cabinet. Additionally, the Police Service appears to have successfully resisted the prescribed re-orientation away from law enforcement to community policing. Detection and control of misconduct also remain weak. A more interventionist Criminal Justice Commission is needed, with more proactive strategies for developing compliance with ethical standards.

On 24 September 1997 the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) released a comprehensive report entitled Integrity in the Queensland Police Service: Implementation and Impact of the Fitzgerald Inquiry Reforms, in line with its statutory obligation to report to Parliament on the implementation of the recommendations of the Inquiry. Earlier reports have examined the implementation of the Inquiry's recommendations relating to recruitment and training and the restructuring of the police service (see CJC 1993, 1994). This most recent report addresses issues such as whether the Fitzgerald reforms have enhanced the effectiveness of the complaints investigation process, led to improved standards of behaviour within the Queensland Police Service (QPS), reduced the incidence of corruption and weakened the influence of the police ‘code of silence’. In addition to providing a retrospective assessment of the ‘Fitzgerald reforms’, the report identifies key areas where further action is required by the QPS and provides a reference point against which to measure future progress. This article summarises the key findings of the report and briefly discusses the implications for further reform of the QPS and the role of the CJC in that process.

The interactions of police with young people with cognitive disabilities (YPWCD) have seldom been considered in research, even though this group is over-represented in the criminal justice system. This article presents the results of a qualitative study into YPWCD’s experiences with police in Queensland, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with service providers who work with YPWCD and YPWCD themselves. The procedural justice perspective was used as an analytic framework to provide an insight into YPWCD’s relationships with the police. Findings point to ways in which police can better respond to YPWCD in procedurally just ways, as well as to the role that family and service providers might play in supporting this outcome.

How police respond to domestic and family violence (DFV) has important ramifications for the safety of women and their children. Despite recognition of the key role police play in responding to DFV and the importance of the perspectives of survivors in informing appropriate responses, there has been no recent exploration of survivors’ experiences of the police response to DFV in Queensland. This article draws on interviews with women in Brisbane, Australia, who have experienced DFV and engaged in some way with the legal system. It explores women’s reasons for calling, or not calling, the police and their experiences with police between 2014 and 2017. The article highlights the role of police culture in appropriately responding to DFV. It suggests that cultural change is needed and may be facilitated by ongoing training, addressing gender balance within the police service and introducing women-only police stations.

Police high-speed vehicular pursuits are contentious due to lives lost and property damage resulting from unintended crashes. To reduce pursuit-related trauma, and potential litigation, police jurisdictions have introduced restrictive policies that limit when officers may engage in a pursuit. However, opponents of restrictive pursuit policies believe this results in reduced deterrence, increased criminal offending and dangerous driving practices. This thesis tested these assumptions using a single case study of Queensland, Australia, where the Queensland Police Service (QPS) implemented two restrictive pursuit policy iterations in 2007 and 2011. Five studies sought to establish the policies’ specific aims; whether they were achieved; if there was resistance to the policy reforms; and, if so, what were the rationales for such resistance. The major theoretical contribution of this thesis was to support the notion that Dent and Goldberg’s (1999a; 1999b) Loss Resistance Theory can help explain why police might resist policy reform. Loss Resistance Theory argues that change per se is not the root cause for resistance to performance altering policies, but stakeholders’ perceived losses in terms of their autonomy, status, and independent discretion, resulting from the policy change. Lipsky’s (2010) Discretionary Independence Theory applied to police officers acting as ‘street-level bureaucrats’ (Lipsky, 2010), provided an additional theoretical platform to test policy limitations on officers’ decision-making. Several other theories were derived from the literature and used to assist data collection and provide focus to the analysis. These included Classical Deterrence Theory, as derived from Hobbes (1651), Beccaria (1764/1872) and Bentham (1780/1988), that was tested relative to alterations in offending behaviour. Moore’s Public Value Theory (1995), that explains public acceptance of authority and coercion is judged against citizens’ expectations for justice, fairness, efficiency, and effectiveness, provided an opportunity to explore external policy acceptance and/or resistance. Cohen and Felson’s (1979) Routine Activity Theory proposes that for a crime to be successfully committed, the three necessary elements are a motivated offender, the availability of a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian. The theory was tested by analysis of crime patterns and offending behaviours where police guardianship may have been affected by the policy restrictions. The research began with study 1, a documentary archival search and analysis spanning the pre-policy years from 1989 to 2006, that sought to confirm the intent of Queensland’s restrictive pursuit policies. Applying a One Group Pretest/Posttest Design method, using official QPS data from 2003 to 2015, study 2 then explored changes in pursuit frequencies, and associated trauma, before and after each policy iteration. Study 3 used the same method to test changes in frequency and rate of selected offence categories. Study 4 analysed operational reports to identify policy noncompliance that may infer resistance. And, finally, study 5 analysed interview responses from fifteen operational police officers. Findings from study 1 reveal the primary intent of the policies was to reduce the number of deaths associated with police pursuits. Study 2 found that both restrictive policies reduced pursuit-related trauma, as intended. Crime classes tested in study 3 all showed reductions to varying degrees, except evasion offences, which increased exponentially. Early policy resistance was evident from the results of study 4 but diminished over time. The results of studies 4 & 5 found early resistance to the restrictive policies was predicated on officers’ fears of potential loss to their autonomy, independent decision-making capacity, and operational feasibility. This research established that restrictive police pursuit policies did not contribute to increases in the general road death toll due to any lack of road policing enforcement, as predicted in the literature. And, except for evasion offences, they did not facilitate increased crime where the use of a vehicle is either mandatory or desirable for the successful completion of the offence. With the passing of time, and the negation of pre-empted outcomes, resistance is now largely eliminated. However, police officers reportedly continue to resist applying the evasion offence policy requirements, while in their view prosecutors and magistrates fail to adhere to the relevant legislation. Future researchers may wish to test the findings in an alternative jurisdiction to establish if the results can be equally observed and replicated. However, the findings imply that police administrators contemplating policy reform should focus greater attention and resources on ongoing training investment before and after policy implementation. Their goal should be to ensure officers are thoroughly versed in the organization’s aims, so that policies may be fully embraced by operational and prosecutorial staff, while assuaging any perceived losses from the outset, particularly to officers’ status and authority.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Crim & Crim Justice
Arts, Education and Law
Full Text

Most corruption research is into what causes corruption, rather than how it functions, on institutional causal factors rather than how it works. There are strong practical reasons for this, given the difficulty in gaining reliable data about actual corruption. The political economy model of corruption is the most influential, coherent and popular. It describes corruption in terms of “rent seeking" behaviour by “rational optimisers”, and has the advantage of access to political economy tools and concepts such as game theory and principal agent theory. This thesis contests the assumptions of the rational choice influences on the political economy approach, using evidence from an in—depth case study of corruption in the Queensland Police Force between 1960 and 1987. The results show that the corrupt network in the Queensland Police Force involved highly complex social behaviour that displayed many “non rational” characteristics. Far from being rational optimisers focused on material benefits, corrupt network members were found to be willing to accept small material or non material rewards, even though their behaviour involved significant personal risk. Corrupt network members were also found to highly value social interactions and belonging to the corrupt network as a group. This is not to say that individuals in the corrupt network did not seek corrupt payments, as a large amount of cash was actually involved. However, the evidence shows that a very small number of “inner sanctum” power holders received a hugely disproportionate amount of the money while bearing disproportionately less of the risk. Corruption has to be holistically understood as an outcome of continuously functioning networks rather than as an episode with a distinct beginning and end. Using the data from the Queensland Police Force corrupt network, this thesis examines the nature of interactions between all the corrupt network actors using some of the tools and methodology of social network analysis. The evidence suggests that corrupt police networks are self contained and highly adaptive to threatsand opportunities from their environment. The network has a shape and function that transcends individuals, even though in the case of the Queensland Police Force corrupt network certain individuals were clearly important to its successful operation. The network is highly flexible and resilient, able to maintain itself while reducing activity even during periods of sustained external threat, and also to efficiently increase activity and access to resources when the environment is more favourable. The corrupt network is able to achieve these outcomes, both through using directly corrupt interactions between actors in the corrupt network, and other interactions that bear little relation to traditional conceptions of corruption. In particular this thesis finds that considerable energy is expended by corrupt network members in conducting interactions that: protect the network from external attack using network resources; promote the network to grow in directions that give it greater control of relevant resources; are of a social nature; and, promote the development of influence relations, access to resources, the swapping of information and the trading of favours. In fact, referring to a corrupt network underestimates the complexity of its interaction with its environment. The corrupt network within the Queensland Police Force interacted with several self contained networks that had links with each other: the corrupt police network; the criminal milieu; and, the adjacent influence network. The inter—relationships between all three networks were crucial to the operation of the police corrupt network, which at its highest point was receiving over $56,000 a month in corrupt payments from criminals. The evidence shows that without links to the criminals the corrupt conduct could not occur, but that links to the adjacent influence network were also highly important to corrupt network operation. The adjacent influence network consisted of a socially connected group of actors from Queensland’s primary social institutions including: the political sphere (and in particular the ruling National Party); the judiciary; and, the media. Access to powerholders in these institutions allowed the corrupt network to receive information and resourCes, thus ensuring it could protect and sustain itself over a long period of time. Anti-corruption measures need to take into account these social and network characteristics of corruption to be successful.

Police work tasks are diverse and require the ability to take command, demonstrate leadership, make serious decisions and be self directed (Beck, 1999; Brunetto & Farr-Wharton, 2002; Howard, Donofrio & Boles, 2002). This work is usually performed in pairs or sometimes by an officer working alone. Operational police work is seldom performed under the watchful eyes of a supervisor and a great amount of reliance is placed on the high levels of motivation and professionalism of individual officers. Research has shown that highly motivated workers produce better outcomes (Whisenand & Rush, 1998; Herzberg, 2003). It is therefore important that Queensland police officers are highly motivated to provide a quality service to the Queensland community. This research aims to identify factors which motivate Queensland police to perform quality work. Researchers acknowledge that there is a lack of research and knowledge in regard to the factors which motivate police (Beck, 1999; Bragg, 1998; Howard, Donofrio & Boles, 2002; McHugh & Verner, 1998). The motivational factors were identified in regard to the demographic variables of; age, sex, rank, tenure and education. The model for this research is Herzberg’s two-factor theory of workplace motivation (1959). Herzberg found that there are two broad types of workplace motivational factors; those driven by a need to prevent loss or harm and those driven by a need to gain personal satisfaction or achievement. His study identified 16 basic sub-factors that operate in the workplace. The research utilised a questionnaire instrument based on the sub-factors identified by Herzberg (1959). The questionnaire format consists of an initial section which sought demographic information about the participant and is followed by 51 Likert scale questions. The instrument is an expanded version of an instrument previously used in doctoral studies to identify sources of police motivation (Holden, 1980; Chiou, 2004). The questionnaire was forwarded to approximately 960 police in the Brisbane, Metropolitan North Region. The data were analysed using Factor Analysis, MANOVAs, ANOVAs and multiple regression analysis to identify the key sources of police motivation and to determine the relationships between demographic variables such as: age, rank, educational level, tenure, generation cohort and motivational factors. A total of 484 officers responded to the questionnaire from the sample population of 960. Factor analysis revealed five broad Prime Motivational Factors that motivate police in their work. The Prime Motivational Factors are: Feeling Valued, Achievement, Workplace Relationships, the Work Itself and Pay and Conditions. The factor Feeling Valued highlighted the importance of positive supportive leaders in motivating officers. Many officers commented that supervisors who only provided negative feedback diminished their sense of feeling valued and were a key source of de-motivation. Officers also frequently commented that they were motivated by operational police work itself whilst demonstrating a strong sense of identity with their team and colleagues. The study showed a general need for acceptance by peers and an idealistic motivation to assist members of the community in need and protect victims of crime. Generational cohorts were not found to exert a significant influence on police motivation. The demographic variable with the single greatest influence on police motivation was tenure. Motivation levels were found to drop dramatically during the first two years of an officer’s service and generally not improve significantly until near retirement age. The findings of this research provide the foundation of a number of recommendations in regard to police retirement, training and work allocation that are aimed to improve police motivation levels. The five Prime Motivational Factor model developed in this study is recommended for use as a planning tool by police leaders to improve motivational and job-satisfaction components of police Service policies. The findings of this study also provide a better understanding of the current sources of police motivation. They are expected to have valuable application for Queensland police human resource management when considering policies and procedures in the areas of motivation, stress reduction and attracting suitable staff to specific areas of responsibility.

The reform measures recommended by the Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (referred to as the "Fitzgerald Inquiry") radically transformed the face of policing in Queensland. The most significant of these recommendations was the establishment of an external oversight body, the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), which has independence from executive government and holds the power to investigate not only police but any public servant or politician. Other recommendations included "Whistleblower" legislation, increasing sanctions for serious misconduct, lateral recruitment and promotion by merit rather than seniority. The first main research question tested in this thesis is whether these reform measures have produced improvements in the following areas: the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes for dealing with complaints against police; public confidence in those processes and the public standing of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) generally; standards of police behaviour; the incidence of corrupt conduct; and police attitudes towards reporting misconduct by their fellow officers. These Fitzgerald Inquiry reforms were strategies primarily derived from two schools of thought describing the nature and cause of police corruption: deterrence based theory (including "individual" or "rotten apple" theory) and cultural (also labeled "cultural" or "socialisation") based theory. To date most strategies used to combat police corruption have been underpinned by these theories. A third theory - situational based theory (sometimes titled "environmental" or "opportunity" theory) - which has had success in crime prevention, has been scarcely used in the area of police corruption. However, an extensive body of research has affirmed the effects of situational factors on police behaviour, suggesting the potential for the application of situational crime prevention initiatives in combatting police corruption. The second research question proposed in this thesis is whether situational based theory could also be beneficial in the prevention of police corruption. Data drawn upon to test the first research question were interviews and surveys with police officers, public attitude surveys and statistics from the processing of complaints against police. Although each source has limitations, collectively the data are sufficiently comprehensive - and robust - to defend conclusions about the general direction of the changes which have occurred. These data indicate that the Fitzgerald Inquiry reforms have, at least to some degree, had their intended impact on the QPS. These reforms have contributed to an apparent improvement in public confidence in the complaints system and the QPS generally. Moreover, the available evidence suggests that the Fitzgerald Inquiry reforms have resulted in a weakening of the police code of silence. As far as the specific issue of corruption in the QPS is concerned, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions from existing data sources. However, the weight of the available evidence is that such conduct is less pervasive and occurs at lower levels than was the case in the pre-Fitzgerald Inquiry QPS. It is very difficult to ascertain which reform components were the most effective and which were not helpful at all, as these reform measures were initiated simultaneously. For example, the negative elements of the police culture may have been eliminated or reduced but whether it was the cultural strategies or one of the deterrence based strategies influencing officer behaviour remains unknown. The second main research question the thesis poses is that the use of situational crime prevention techniques has potential for contributing to the prevention of police corruption. A situational analysis of complaints against police data, including the development of a typology for classifying types of police corruption and misconduct, was used as an example of how this may be accomplished in Queensland. The study provides some, albeit limited, support for the hypothesis that situational crime prevention methods are applicable to police corruption. Based upon three years of complaints data, enough homogenous cases were gathered to enable the analysis of four categories of police corruption - Opportunistic Thefts, Driving under the Influence, Assault (while off-duty), and Theft from Employer. Given that this study only used three years of complaints data held by the CJC and more than nine years of data exist, productive situational analyses of many other categories of corruption is probable. This study also illustrated that complaints against police data are being under utilised by the QPS and the CJC. For future research in the situational analysis of complaints data, I recommend improving the gathering of data from complaints files for storage in electronic form to enable situational prevention analysis to be conducted more readily. A geographical example was used to illustrate further how complaints against police data could be more extensively utilised as a prevention tool. This analysis was conducted at an organisation unit level determined primarily by geographical factors. The complaint patterns of units of similar "task environments", as measured by unit size and type of duties performed, were compared in an attempt to identify those units experiencing the presence or absence of "bad apples" or a "negative culture". This study led to the conclusion that a divisional analysis of complaints data can provide information valuable in combatting police corruption. When task environment was held constant, it was possible to identify units experiencing the effects of possible "bad apples" and/or "negative cultures". Once these particular units were identified, intervention strategies to address the units' particular problem could be constructed. Future research in this area would involve ongoing divisional data analysis followed-up by individual assessment of officers identified as "bad apples", or a "compare-and-contrast" procedure to distinguish features requiring correction in units identified as having a "negative culture". The research findings presented in this thesis are that progress has occurred in a number of areas in addressing the problems identified by the Fitzgerald Inquiry, but that there is undoubtedly scope for more to be achieved. Despite the very significant increase in the resources and powers available to investigators post-Fitzgerald, it is still difficult to prove that a police officer engaged in misconduct, or that other officers were aware of this fact and had failed to take action, because of the constraints imposed by evidentiary and legal requirements. Thus, while it is vital to maintain an effective and credible independent complaints investigation system and ensure that there is a proper internal discipline process in place, the scope for increasing the "deterrent power" of the present system is limited. Putting more resources into complaints investigations might make a difference at the margins, but is unlikely to lead to a significant increase in the probability of a complaint being substantiated and a sanction imposed. Investing more resources in investigations has an additional cost in that such resources are then lost to other efforts to combat corruption that may provide more fruitful results in the long term. The value of an occasional substantiation is placed above the ability to engage in a large amount of prevention work. Inevitably then, three clear messages are apparent. First, continued effort must be made to modify the organisational climate of the QPS in terms of commitment to integrity. Recommended strategies to accomplish this end are to continue the recruitment of more educated, female and older officers to reduce police-citizen conflict and the negative elements of the police culture, and also to develop a comprehensive, integrated approach to ethics education for QPS officers at all ranks and positions. Second, other forms of deterrence against misconduct are needed such as the use of covert strategies like integrity testing which could be conducted in conjunction with the CJC. Third, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on developing and implementing preventive strategies. This thesis has shown that valuable prevention strategies can be gained from situational and divisional analysis of complaints data, and a range of proactive management options based upon situational crime prevention theory are recommended. These strategies have application in any police service.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Arts, Education and Law
Full Text

Occupational stress is an increasingly significant economic and social burden in Australia, yet workers’ compensation systems do not adequately address the impact of occupational stress, leaving employers and individuals to find new ways of responding to this challenge. Management of workplace stress injury is therefore an ongoing concern to employers, requiring the integration at the workplace of more effective occupational rehabilitation systems to prevent and mitigate this condition. Research indicates that organisations, which are successful in developing wellintegrated occupational rehabilitation systems that incorporate work-based interventions, benefit measurably from this investment in human resources. However, there is limited research demonstrating how specific organisations can develop effective occupational rehabilitation strategies, especially in Australia and especially in response to workplace stress. In response to this situation the aim of this research was to develop and implement a process for identifying an effective occupational rehabilitation system conducive to the large organisational environment of the Queensland Police Service (QPS). The study utilised an Action Research design, incorporating a systems thinking framework to address the research aims. Data was collected in three phases, using interviews, focus groups and a survey, to gain an understanding of the organisational context of the QPS, issues pertaining to stress and injury, potential solutions to the identified issues from the perspectives of organisational stakeholders, and existing injury and illness prevention and rehabilitation processes.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Human Services and Social Work
Griffith Health
Full Text

At the time this study was conducted, Queensland police officers were offered a five year age range in which retirement was possible. These officers were permitted to retire from age 55 and were forced to retire at age 60. The Queensland Police Service had previously identified that only 13% of all police officers were staying in their employment until the mandatory retirement age of 60. Retirement of these officers at the earliest possible opportunity presented a considerable loss of human resource investment. This study was undertaken to investigate some possible triggers influencing the decision to retire. Three specific research questions associated with the retirement intentions of Queensland police officers of the baby-boomer generation were formulated and subsequently investigated. These questions were: * How do the demographic characteristics of individual police officers relate to their retirement intentions? * What are the triggers that are associated with the retirement age intentions of baby-boomer police officers in Queensland? and, * How are these triggers associated with officers' intentions to retire earlier or later? While considerable work had been previously done on retirement triggers, the issue of police retirement triggers is under-researched. The situation was further compounded by the fact that the major study of police retirement was American, with retirement in that system based on years of service, and not age as in Australia. A list of possible retirement triggers was compiled from the literature and then focus groups of Queensland police officers were used to discuss some aspects of these possible retirement triggers and generate others that were specific to the Queensland Police Service. The study obtained the views of 641 members of the cohort through a questionnaire and utilised a quantitative research methodology to achieve findings. Demographic aspects showed little overall influence on an officer's retirement age decision. The demographic items that did have a direct association with retirement intentions were gender, length of service, and the method of admission to the organisation. Female officers, officers with the greatest length of service and those admitted to the organisation as Cadets were more likely to seek earlier retirement, that is retirement at or soon after age fifty-five. Whilst not conclusive, the education level of the individual indicated a trend towards later retirement for those with higher levels of education. Importantly, operational status, shift worker status, rank, and qualification for promotion had no association with the retirement decision. A factor analysis of the questionnaire items used in the study identified five factors, of which four contributed significantly to a police officer's retirement timing decision at the later end of the retirement window spectrum. These factors were 'appropriateness', 'worth and belonging', 'influences and relationships' and 'financial' issues. A fifth factor 'flexibility' was also determined but found to have no statistical significance. Three recommendations were made from this study: the formation of a Queensland Police Service alumni; the adoption of a n employment re-engagement policy called 'procruiting'; and the introduction of an assisted retirement education package for exiting members.

At the time this study was conducted, Queensland police officers were offered a five year age range in which retirement was possible. These officers were permitted to retire from age 55 and were forced to retire at age 60. The Queensland Police Service had previously identified that only 13% of all police officers were staying in their employment until the mandatory retirement age of 60. Retirement of these officers at the earliest possible opportunity presented a considerable loss of human resource investment. This study was undertaken to investigate some possible triggers influencing the decision to retire. Three specific research questions associated with the retirement intentions of Queensland police officers of the baby-boomer generation were formulated and subsequently investigated. These questions were: * How do the demographic characteristics of individual police officers relate to their retirement intentions? * What are the triggers that are associated with the retirement age intentions of baby-boomer police officers in Queensland? and, * How are these triggers associated with officers' intentions to retire earlier or later? While considerable work had been previously done on retirement triggers, the issue of police retirement triggers is under-researched. The situation was further compounded by the fact that the major study of police retirement was American, with retirement in that system based on years of service, and not age as in Australia. A list of possible retirement triggers was compiled from the literature and then focus groups of Queensland police officers were used to discuss some aspects of these possible retirement triggers and generate others that were specific to the Queensland Police Service. The study obtained the views of 641 members of the cohort through a questionnaire and utilised a quantitative research methodology to achieve findings. Demographic aspects showed little overall influence on an officer's retirement age decision. The demographic items that did have a direct association with retirement intentions were gender, length of service, and the method of admission to the organisation. Female officers, officers with the greatest length of service and those admitted to the organisation as Cadets were more likely to seek earlier retirement, that is retirement at or soon after age fifty-five. Whilst not conclusive, the education level of the individual indicated a trend towards later retirement for those with higher levels of education. Importantly, operational status, shift worker status, rank, and qualification for promotion had no association with the retirement decision. A factor analysis of the questionnaire items used in the study identified five factors, of which four contributed significantly to a police officer's retirement timing decision at the later end of the retirement window spectrum. These factors were 'appropriateness', 'worth and belonging', 'influences and relationships' and 'financial' issues. A fifth factor 'flexibility' was also determined but found to have no statistical significance. Three recommendations were made from this study: the formation of a Queensland Police Service alumni; the adoption of a n employment re-engagement policy called 'procruiting'; and the introduction of an assisted retirement education package for exiting members.

The reform measures recommended by the Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (referred to as the "Fitzgerald Inquiry") radically transformed the face of policing in Queensland. The most significant of these recommendations was the establishment of an external oversight body, the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), which has independence from executive government and holds the power to investigate not only police but any public servant or politician. Other recommendations included "Whistleblower" legislation, increasing sanctions for serious misconduct, lateral recruitment and promotion by merit rather than seniority. The first main research question tested in this thesis is whether these reform measures have produced improvements in the following areas: the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes for dealing with complaints against police; public confidence in those processes and the public standing of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) generally; standards of police behaviour; the incidence of corrupt conduct; and police attitudes towards reporting misconduct by their fellow officers. These Fitzgerald Inquiry reforms were strategies primarily derived from two schools of thought describing the nature and cause of police corruption: deterrence based theory (including "individual" or "rotten apple" theory) and cultural (also labeled "cultural" or "socialisation") based theory. To date most strategies used to combat police corruption have been underpinned by these theories. A third theory - situational based theory (sometimes titled "environmental" or "opportunity" theory) - which has had success in crime prevention, has been scarcely used in the area of police corruption. However, an extensive body of research has affirmed the effects of situational factors on police behaviour, suggesting the potential for the application of situational crime prevention initiatives in combatting police corruption. The second research question proposed in this thesis is whether situational based theory could also be beneficial in the prevention of police corruption. Data drawn upon to test the first research question were interviews and surveys with police officers, public attitude surveys and statistics from the processing of complaints against police. Although each source has limitations, collectively the data are sufficiently comprehensive - and robust - to defend conclusions about the general direction of the changes which have occurred. These data indicate that the Fitzgerald Inquiry reforms have, at least to some degree, had their intended impact on the QPS. These reforms have contributed to an apparent improvement in public confidence in the complaints system and the QPS generally. Moreover, the available evidence suggests that the Fitzgerald Inquiry reforms have resulted in a weakening of the police code of silence. As far as the specific issue of corruption in the QPS is concerned, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions from existing data sources. However, the weight of the available evidence is that such conduct is less pervasive and occurs at lower levels than was the case in the pre-Fitzgerald Inquiry QPS. It is very difficult to ascertain which reform components were the most effective and which were not helpful at all, as these reform measures were initiated simultaneously. For example, the negative elements of the police culture may have been eliminated or reduced but whether it was the cultural strategies or one of the deterrence based strategies influencing officer behaviour remains unknown. The second main research question the thesis poses is that the use of situational crime prevention techniques has potential for contributing to the prevention of police corruption. A situational analysis of complaints against police data, including the development of a typology for classifying types of police corruption and misconduct, was used as an example of how this may be accomplished in Queensland. The study provides some, albeit limited, support for the hypothesis that situational crime prevention methods are applicable to police corruption. Based upon three years of complaints data, enough homogenous cases were gathered to enable the analysis of four categories of police corruption - Opportunistic Thefts, Driving under the Influence, Assault (while off-duty), and Theft from Employer. Given that this study only used three years of complaints data held by the CJC and more than nine years of data exist, productive situational analyses of many other categories of corruption is probable. This study also illustrated that complaints against police data are being under utilised by the QPS and the CJC. For future research in the situational analysis of complaints data, I recommend improving the gathering of data from complaints files for storage in electronic form to enable situational prevention analysis to be conducted more readily. A geographical example was used to illustrate further how complaints against police data could be more extensively utilised as a prevention tool. This analysis was conducted at an organisation unit level determined primarily by geographical factors. The complaint patterns of units of similar "task environments", as measured by unit size and type of duties performed, were compared in an attempt to identify those units experiencing the presence or absence of "bad apples" or a "negative culture". This study led to the conclusion that a divisional analysis of complaints data can provide information valuable in combatting police corruption. When task environment was held constant, it was possible to identify units experiencing the effects of possible "bad apples" and/or "negative cultures". Once these particular units were identified, intervention strategies to address the units' particular problem could be constructed. Future research in this area would involve ongoing divisional data analysis followed-up by individual assessment of officers identified as "bad apples", or a "compare-and-contrast" procedure to distinguish features requiring correction in units identified as having a "negative culture". The research findings presented in this thesis are that progress has occurred in a number of areas in addressing the problems identified by the Fitzgerald Inquiry, but that there is undoubtedly scope for more to be achieved. Despite the very significant increase in the resources and powers available to investigators post-Fitzgerald, it is still difficult to prove that a police officer engaged in misconduct, or that other officers were aware of this fact and had failed to take action, because of the constraints imposed by evidentiary and legal requirements. Thus, while it is vital to maintain an effective and credible independent complaints investigation system and ensure that there is a proper internal discipline process in place, the scope for increasing the "deterrent power" of the present system is limited. Putting more resources into complaints investigations might make a difference at the margins, but is unlikely to lead to a significant increase in the probability of a complaint being substantiated and a sanction imposed. Investing more resources in investigations has an additional cost in that such resources are then lost to other efforts to combat corruption that may provide more fruitful results in the long term. The value of an occasional substantiation is placed above the ability to engage in a large amount of prevention work. Inevitably then, three clear messages are apparent. First, continued effort must be made to modify the organisational climate of the QPS in terms of commitment to integrity. Recommended strategies to accomplish this end are to continue the recruitment of more educated, female and older officers to reduce police-citizen conflict and the negative elements of the police culture, and also to develop a comprehensive, integrated approach to ethics education for QPS officers at all ranks and positions. Second, other forms of deterrence against misconduct are needed such as the use of covert strategies like integrity testing which could be conducted in conjunction with the CJC. Third, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on developing and implementing preventive strategies. This thesis has shown that valuable prevention strategies can be gained from situational and divisional analysis of complaints data, and a range of proactive management options based upon situational crime prevention theory are recommended. These strategies have application in any police service.

This chapter studies how localism is often used in confusing and contradictory ways in Australian political debate and policy discourse. While many state and territory governments extol the virtues of devolving responsibility for planning and service delivery down to local governments, they show no sign of relinquishing their constitutional authority over local government or of pressing for further devolution to more localised communities. This reflects an increasingly complex system of multi-level governance based on a distinctive Australian system of federalism. Among the challenges for advocates of localism in Australia are the problems of political and bureaucratic capacity in an extremely diverse pattern of local governments, the nature of relations between levels of government and between adjoining councils, and problems of scale in a very large country with a relatively small but spatially concentrated population. The chapter explores these challenges, looking critically at the differences between the rhetoric and the reality of localism in practice. It uses examples drawn mainly from the state of Queensland, but places these in comparative context with other Australian and overseas experience.

Economic and social infrastructure provision presents a conundrum for urban planners, especially in high growth regional economies experiencing strong population growth, increasing demand for infrastructure services and limits to the state’s capacity to sustain long-term investment strategies. This chapter considers the South East Queensland (SEQ) regional economy and the policy decisions taken in recent years to embed and integrate both regional planning and regional infrastructure investment strategies through statutory SEQ Regional Plan and SEQ Infrastructure Plans and Programs. This case study examines the benefits from this integrated approach, as well as the challenges facing the region. Some of the benefits of the integrated approach include land use transport integration, strategic approach to infrastructure provision, alignment of infrastructure planning with budgetary processes, and greater certainty for investments in the regional economy. The challenges for integrated planning are also numerous, and include: ensuing close co-operation between three levels of government and private sector, reconciling long term infrastructure planning with short term political imperatives, managing future uncertainty and financing future investments in land use and infrastructure.

Conceptually, the management of safety at roadworks can be seen in a three level framework. At the regulatory level, roadworks operate at the interface between the work environment, governed by workplace health and safety regulations, and the road environment, which is subject to road traffic regulations and practices. At the organizational level, national, state and local governments plan and purchase road construction and maintenance which are then delivered in-house or tendered out to large construction companies who often subcontract multiple smaller companies to supply services and labor. At the operational level, roadworks are difficult to isolate from the general public, hindering effective occupational health and safety controls. This study, from the State of Queensland, Australia, examines how well this tripartite framework functions. It includes reviews of organizational policy and procedures documents; interviews with 24 subject matter experts from various road construction and maintenance organizations, and on-site interviews with 66 road construction personnel. The study identified several factors influencing the translation of safety policies into practice including the cost of safety measures in the context of competitive tendering, lack of firm evidence of the effectiveness of safety measures, and pressures to minimize disruption to the travelling public.

Background Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death worldwide.(1) It is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia (12,741 cases diagnosed in 2018) and the leading cause of cancer death.(2) The number of years of potential life lost to lung cancer in Australia is estimated to be 58,450, similar to that of colorectal and breast cancer combined.(3) While tobacco control strategies are most effective for disease prevention in the general population, early detection via low dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening in high-risk populations is a viable option for detecting asymptomatic disease in current (13%) and former (24%) Australian smokers.(4) The purpose of this Evidence Check review is to identify and analyse existing and emerging evidence for LDCT lung cancer screening in high-risk individuals to guide future program and policy planning. Evidence Check questions This review aimed to address the following questions: 1. What is the evidence for the effectiveness of lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? 2. What is the evidence of potential harms from lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? 3. What are the main components of recent major lung cancer screening programs or trials? 4. What is the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening programs (include studies of cost–utility)? Summary of methods The authors searched the peer-reviewed literature across three databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase) for existing systematic reviews and original studies published between 1 January 2009 and 8 August 2019. Fifteen systematic reviews (of which 8 were contemporary) and 64 original publications met the inclusion criteria set across the four questions. Key findings Question 1: What is the evidence for the effectiveness of lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? There is sufficient evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of combined (pooled) data from screening trials (of high-risk individuals) to indicate that LDCT examination is clinically effective in reducing lung cancer mortality. In 2011, the landmark National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST, a large-scale randomised controlled trial [RCT] conducted in the US) reported a 20% (95% CI 6.8% – 26.7%; P=0.004) relative reduction in mortality among long-term heavy smokers over three rounds of annual screening. High-risk eligibility criteria was defined as people aged 55–74 years with a smoking history of ≥30 pack-years (years in which a smoker has consumed 20-plus cigarettes each day) and, for former smokers, ≥30 pack-years and have quit within the past 15 years.(5) All-cause mortality was reduced by 6.7% (95% CI, 1.2% – 13.6%; P=0.02). Initial data from the second landmark RCT, the NEderlands-Leuvens Longkanker Screenings ONderzoek (known as the NELSON trial), have found an even greater reduction of 26% (95% CI, 9% – 41%) in lung cancer mortality, with full trial results yet to be published.(6, 7) Pooled analyses, including several smaller-scale European LDCT screening trials insufficiently powered in their own right, collectively demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in lung cancer mortality (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.73–0.91).(8) Despite the reduction in all-cause mortality found in the NLST, pooled analyses of seven trials found no statistically significant difference in all-cause mortality (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.90–1.00).(8) However, cancer-specific mortality is currently the most relevant outcome in cancer screening trials. These seven trials demonstrated a significantly greater proportion of early stage cancers in LDCT groups compared with controls (RR 2.08, 95% CI 1.43–3.03). Thus, when considering results across mortality outcomes and early stage cancers diagnosed, LDCT screening is considered to be clinically effective. Question 2: What is the evidence of potential harms from lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? The harms of LDCT lung cancer screening include false positive tests and the consequences of unnecessary invasive follow-up procedures for conditions that are eventually diagnosed as benign. While LDCT screening leads to an increased frequency of invasive procedures, it does not result in greater mortality soon after an invasive procedure (in trial settings when compared with the control arm).(8) Overdiagnosis, exposure to radiation, psychological distress and an impact on quality of life are other known harms. Systematic review evidence indicates the benefits of LDCT screening are likely to outweigh the harms. The potential harms are likely to be reduced as refinements are made to LDCT screening protocols through: i) the application of risk predication models (e.g. the PLCOm2012), which enable a more accurate selection of the high-risk population through the use of specific criteria (beyond age and smoking history); ii) the use of nodule management algorithms (e.g. Lung-RADS, PanCan), which assist in the diagnostic evaluation of screen-detected nodules and cancers (e.g. more precise volumetric assessment of nodules); and, iii) more judicious selection of patients for invasive procedures. Recent evidence suggests a positive LDCT result may transiently increase psychological distress but does not have long-term adverse effects on psychological distress or health-related quality of life (HRQoL). With regards to smoking cessation, there is no evidence to suggest screening participation invokes a false sense of assurance in smokers, nor a reduction in motivation to quit. The NELSON and Danish trials found no difference in smoking cessation rates between LDCT screening and control groups. Higher net cessation rates, compared with general population, suggest those who participate in screening trials may already be motivated to quit. Question 3: What are the main components of recent major lung cancer screening programs or trials? There are no systematic reviews that capture the main components of recent major lung cancer screening trials and programs. We extracted evidence from original studies and clinical guidance documents and organised this into key groups to form a concise set of components for potential implementation of a national lung cancer screening program in Australia: 1. Identifying the high-risk population: recruitment, eligibility, selection and referral 2. Educating the public, people at high risk and healthcare providers; this includes creating awareness of lung cancer, the benefits and harms of LDCT screening, and shared decision-making 3. Components necessary for health services to deliver a screening program: a. Planning phase: e.g. human resources to coordinate the program, electronic data systems that integrate medical records information and link to an established national registry b. Implementation phase: e.g. human and technological resources required to conduct LDCT examinations, interpretation of reports and communication of results to participants c. Monitoring and evaluation phase: e.g. monitoring outcomes across patients, radiological reporting, compliance with established standards and a quality assurance program 4. Data reporting and research, e.g. audit and feedback to multidisciplinary teams, reporting outcomes to enhance international research into LDCT screening 5. Incorporation of smoking cessation interventions, e.g. specific programs designed for LDCT screening or referral to existing community or hospital-based services that deliver cessation interventions. Most original studies are single-institution evaluations that contain descriptive data about the processes required to establish and implement a high-risk population-based screening program. Across all studies there is a consistent message as to the challenges and complexities of establishing LDCT screening programs to attract people at high risk who will receive the greatest benefits from participation. With regards to smoking cessation, evidence from one systematic review indicates the optimal strategy for incorporating smoking cessation interventions into a LDCT screening program is unclear. There is widespread agreement that LDCT screening attendance presents a ‘teachable moment’ for cessation advice, especially among those people who receive a positive scan result. Smoking cessation is an area of significant research investment; for instance, eight US-based clinical trials are now underway that aim to address how best to design and deliver cessation programs within large-scale LDCT screening programs.(9) Question 4: What is the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening programs (include studies of cost–utility)? Assessing the value or cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening involves a complex interplay of factors including data on effectiveness and costs, and institutional context. A key input is data about the effectiveness of potential and current screening programs with respect to case detection, and the likely outcomes of treating those cases sooner (in the presence of LDCT screening) as opposed to later (in the absence of LDCT screening). Evidence about the cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening programs has been summarised in two systematic reviews. We identified a further 13 studies—five modelling studies, one discrete choice experiment and seven articles—that used a variety of methods to assess cost-effectiveness. Three modelling studies indicated LDCT screening was cost-effective in the settings of the US and Europe. Two studies—one from Australia and one from New Zealand—reported LDCT screening would not be cost-effective using NLST-like protocols. We anticipate that, following the full publication of the NELSON trial, cost-effectiveness studies will likely be updated with new data that reduce uncertainty about factors that influence modelling outcomes, including the findings of indeterminate nodules. Gaps in the evidence There is a large and accessible body of evidence as to the effectiveness (Q1) and harms (Q2) of LDCT screening for lung cancer. Nevertheless, there are significant gaps in the evidence about the program components that are required to implement an effective LDCT screening program (Q3). Questions about LDCT screening acceptability and feasibility were not explicitly included in the scope. However, as the evidence is based primarily on US programs and UK pilot studies, the relevance to the local setting requires careful consideration. The Queensland Lung Cancer Screening Study provides feasibility data about clinical aspects of LDCT screening but little about program design. The International Lung Screening Trial is still in the recruitment phase and findings are not yet available for inclusion in this Evidence Check. The Australian Population Based Screening Framework was developed to “inform decision-makers on the key issues to be considered when assessing potential screening programs in Australia”.(10) As the Framework is specific to population-based, rather than high-risk, screening programs, there is a lack of clarity about transferability of criteria. However, the Framework criteria do stipulate that a screening program must be acceptable to “important subgroups such as target participants who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from disadvantaged groups and people with a disability”.(10) An extensive search of the literature highlighted that there is very little information about the acceptability of LDCT screening to these population groups in Australia. Yet they are part of the high-risk population.(10) There are also considerable gaps in the evidence about the cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening in different settings, including Australia. The evidence base in this area is rapidly evolving and is likely to include new data from the NELSON trial and incorporate data about the costs of targeted- and immuno-therapies as these treatments become more widely available in Australia.