Queensland Police Service

The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto of "Firmness with Courtesy" was changed to "With Honour We Serve". The headquarters of the Queensland Police Service is located at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

The current Commissioner is Stephan (Steve) Gollschewski. The Commissioner reports to the Minister for Police, presently Daniel Purdie.

Queensland came into existence as a colony of the British Empire on 1 December 1859. The region was previously under the jurisdiction of the New South Wales governance with towns policed by small forces controlled by the local magistracy. The Police Act of 1838 (2 Vic. no. 2) which officially codified a variety of common behaviours as criminal and regulated the police response to them, continued as the template for policing. On 13 January 1860, Edric Norfolk Vaux Morisset was appointed the Inspector-General of the Queensland Police. Queensland was divided into 17 districts, each with its own police force headed by a Chief Constable under authority of a local magistrate. The position of Inspector-General was abolished soon after it was established, in July 1860, and most of the operations of the police until 1863 reverted to the control of local police magistrates and justices.

The Queensland Police underwent a major reform in 1864 and the newly re-organised force commenced operations with approximately 143 employees under the command the first Commissioner of Police, David Thompson Seymour. The service had four divisions: Metropolitan Police, Rural Police, Water Police, and Native Police. At the turn of the century there were 845 men and 135 Aboriginal trackers at 256 stations in Queensland.

In 1904 the Queensland Police started to use fingerprinting in investigations. In the 1912 Brisbane general strike the Queensland Police were used to suppress striking workers. The first female police officers, Ellen O'Donnell and Zara Dare, were inducted in March 1931 to assist in inquiries involving female suspects and prisoners. Following World War II a number of technological innovations were adopted including radio for communication within Queensland and between state departments. By 1950 the Service had a staff of 2,030 police officers, 10 women police and 30 trackers. In February 1951, a central communication room was established at the Criminal Investigation Branch in Brisbane.

On 14 May 1963, the Juvenile Aid Bureau was established. In 1965 female officers were given the same powers as male officers. The Queensland Police Academy at Oxley, Brisbane, was completed in 1972. Bicycles were phased out in 1975 and more cars and motorcycles were put into service. The Air Wing also became operational in 1975 following the purchase of two single-engine aircraft.

The decade was a turbulent period in Queensland's political history. Allegations of high-level corruption in both the Queensland Police and State Government led to a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald. The Fitzgerald Inquiry which ran from July 1987 to July 1989 led to charges being laid against many long-serving police, including Jack Herbert, Licensing Branch Sergeant Harry Burgess, Assistant Commissioner Graeme Parker and Commissioner Terry Lewis. Lewis was jailed and served ten and a half years.

The Fitzgerald Inquiry also led to a perjury trial against former Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, which ended with a hung jury. The Director of Public Prosecutions elected not to pursue a retrial due to Bjelke-Petersen's age and health. It was later revealed that the jury foreman for the trial was a member of the Young Nationals and identified with the 'friends of Joh' movement.